[Venezuelanalysis.com editor Gregory Wilpert reports on the speech given by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez following the defeat of his proposal to reform the country's 1999 Constitution. For the first time in nine years, after winning twelve nation-wide electoral contests, Chavez conceded defeat, using his trademark phrase "for now." In effect, he promised that this electoral setback, which gave the opposition a razor-thin margin in defeating his constitutional reform proposal with a vote of 50.7% to 49.3%, was just temporary and that he will continue to pursue the policies outlined in the reform.]
President Chavez holds up a copy of the 1999 constitutiona, which he wanted to reform (Alfonso Ocando/Prensa Presidencial)
Chavez: Defeat in Venezuelan Constitutional Reform is “For Now”
Monday, December 3, 2007
Caracas, December 3, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com) - Venezuela's President Chavez gave a historic concession speech Sunday night. For the first time in nine years, after winning twelve nation-wide electoral contests, Chavez had to concede defeat, using his trademark phrase "for now." In effect, he promised that this electoral setback, which gave the opposition a razor-thin margin in defeating his constitutional reform proposal with a vote of 50.7% to 49.3%, was just temporary and that he will continue to pursue the policies outlined in the reform.
Chavez gave his concession talk at just after 1am to international journalists, members of his government, and other invited guests, such as Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, many of whom had waited for his statement on the referendum since 7pm.
The constitutional reform referendum, which was to address issues of participatory democracy, social inclusion, economic development, politico-territorial reorganization, and presidential power, was divided into two blocks. Block "A" contained Chavez's proposal to reform 33 articles, plus 11 changes proposed by the National Assembly. Block "B" contained another 25 articles from the National Assembly.
In the night from Sunday to Monday, Venezuela's National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena announced around 1am that with 88% of the ballots counted, block "A" of the proposal was defeated with 4,504,354 or 50.7% votes against and 4,379,392 or 49.3% of votes in favor of the reform. Block "B" lost 50.9% to 49.1%. Abstention was at 44.1%.
Right after the official results were announced, President Chavez went on the air in a nationally televised broadcast, saying that he had been torn all night between accepting defeat and waiting until more results are in to see if the final result might still change. He said he was relieved, though, that the CNE said that the failure of the reform was irreversible so that the country would be spared a drawn-out battle over the results, as had occurred in the U.S. presidential election of 2000. He referred to the result as a "photo-finish ending."
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