Chavez warned of 'river of blood'
05/12/2007 12:12  - (SA)  

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Caracas - Military leaders urged a reluctant Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to concede defeat in the constitutional referendum in order to avoid violence, Venezuelan media reported on Tuesday.

According to the reports, military leaders met with Chavez at 19:30 on Sunday, with the results of the vote on the table, but Chavez wanted to wait until 100% of the ballots had been counted before conceding defeat. A full count would have taken about four days, the daily El Universal said.

Nearly 51% of voters rejected the reform proposed by Chavez, while 49% voted in favour of it. More than 44% of the electorate did not turn out to vote in the oil-rich nation.

El Universal said the officers warned Chavez that waiting for a full count would bring a "river of blood" on the country.

At Fuerte Tiuna, the main military barracks in Caracas, troops were called in, and one general warned the president that the Armed Forces would not repress the unsettled population and that the country "would not stand those few days of agitation," the daily added.

Reportedly, when Chavez found out the result, he was angry and turned against his campaign command.

"They lied to me, they deceived me," he was quoted as saying.

Chavez had allegedly been told throughout the day that the reform was being approved.

Besides that, military officers from the central city of Maracay were said to have called the president, asking him to concede defeat soon.

According to the reports, even experts from the National Electoral Council (CNE) needed to convince Chavez that the trend pointing towards a defeat of the reform was irreversible.

Ahead of Sunday's referendum, Chavez had claimed the proposals would install "21st century socialism" in Venezuela and pave the way for a more effective fight against corruption. The referendum would have allowed the unlimited re-election of the president, lengthened the presidential term from six to seven years and ended the autonomy of the country's central bank. - Sapa-dpa

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