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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Venezuela to vote on Chavez term | Venezuela to vote on Chavez term |
| (2 days later) | |
| Venezuela is to hold a referendum next month on whether to remove limits on re-electing presidents, officials said. | Venezuela is to hold a referendum next month on whether to remove limits on re-electing presidents, officials said. |
| The vote is set for 15 February, and if passed, would allow President Hugo Chavez to run for office again. | The vote is set for 15 February, and if passed, would allow President Hugo Chavez to run for office again. |
| The announcement comes a day after MPs backed a constitutional amendment brought by Mr Chavez's supporters. | The announcement comes a day after MPs backed a constitutional amendment brought by Mr Chavez's supporters. |
| A plan to lift term limits was defeated by the Venezuelan people last year. The BBC's correspondent in Caracas says the issue has sharply divided the nation. | A plan to lift term limits was defeated by the Venezuelan people last year. The BBC's correspondent in Caracas says the issue has sharply divided the nation. |
| Student protests | Student protests |
| Announcing the date of the referendum, the head of Venezuela's electoral council, Tibisay Lucena, said the poll would be "clean, transparent and reliable". | Announcing the date of the referendum, the head of Venezuela's electoral council, Tibisay Lucena, said the poll would be "clean, transparent and reliable". |
| Mr Chavez - who was first elected president in 1998 - has argued he needs another 10 years in office to consolidate what he calls his socialist revolution. | Mr Chavez - who was first elected president in 1998 - has argued he needs another 10 years in office to consolidate what he calls his socialist revolution. |
| The opposition says the entire process is unconstitutional and amounts to a power grab by Mr Chavez. | The opposition says the entire process is unconstitutional and amounts to a power grab by Mr Chavez. |
| In the past few days, students from a number of universities have mobilised a number of protests against the referendum, which by and large have passed off peacefully, the BBC's Will Grant in Caracas says. | |
| Neither side wants a repeat of the violence which marred the last referendum campaign, in which a number of protesters were killed, our correspondent says. | Neither side wants a repeat of the violence which marred the last referendum campaign, in which a number of protesters were killed, our correspondent says. |