Venezuela, Opposition Sign Agreement on Chavez Vote (Update1)

May 29 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan government and opposition leaders signed an agreement to let an electoral board set the date for a binding referendum on President Hugo Chavez's rule.

The 19-point accord, brokered by Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria after eight months of talks, pledges both sides to respect the right of an electoral board to set the date and opens the way for international observers to monitor the voting.

I'm happy,'' Chavez said in a televised speech. We will work so that this agreement isn't in vain.'' Chavez didn't sign the agreement or attend the signing ceremony.

A referendum may end two years of protests and strikes by the opposition demanding that Chavez resign or call early elections. Opponents agreed to a binding referendum after August, the midpoint of Chavez's six-year term, after a two-month national strike failed to force a non-binding vote in February.

Polls have indicated that Chavez, who was ousted by the military for two days last year during a failed coup attempt, would lose a referendum. After the strike crippled oil production and consumer spending, the economy fell 29 percent in the first quarter and unemployment rose to 20 percent.

The accord says that the OAS, the Carter Center and the United Nations may provide technical assistance before the vote and observe the referendum.

``This opens the possibility that in a short time Venezuelans can freely express themselves through a binding referendum,'' said Alejandro Armas, an opposition negotiator.

Hollow Accord?

Government officials said an agreement to have a referendum wasn't necessary since it is a constitutional right.

The agreement doesn't have anything to do with the referendum,'' said Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, who represented the government at the signing. The referendum is carried out independently from the agreement.''

The accord is a watered-down version of an agreement Chavez refused to sign last month that set November 19 as the deadline for the referendum, analysts said.

We are particularly unimpressed by the mostly hollow accord signed today, despite all the hype,'' said Christian Stracke, an economist with New York-based economic research company CreditSights Inc. The accord offers few, if any, concrete details about how the two sides will proceed toward a referendum.''

Postponed

Congress last week postponed a vote to choose the five members and 10 alternates of the electoral board, which would administer the referendum.

Opposition congressmen said they objected to government legislators, who hold a narrow majority, picking three of the five board members.

The constitution requires about 2.5 million signatures, or 20 percent of the more than 12 million registered voters, to convoke a referendum. To oust Chavez, the number voting against him must exceed the total that voted him into office in 2000, when he got about 3.7 million votes.

One Venezuelan died and 15 were injured last week after gunmen fired on a march by Chavez opponents, the second death this month during a political protest.

Venezuelan must not let political violence spread,'' said Gaviria, a former president of Colombia. Because once it starts, it can take decades to stop.''

Last Updated: May 29, 2003 13:57 EDT