2004 Venezuelan recall referendum: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Venezuela_flag_large.png|200px|right|Venezuelan flag]] |
[[Image:Venezuela_flag_large.png|200px|right|Venezuelan flag]] |
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The '''2004 Venezuelan recall referendum''' is a [[referendum]] to determine whether [[Hugo Chávez]], the president of [[Venezuela]], should be recalled from office. The recall referendum was announced on [[June 8]], [[2004]], by the [[Consejo Nacional Electoral|National Electoral Council]]. It is scheduled ton take place on [[August 15]], [[2004]]. |
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On [[8 June]] [[2004]], [[Venezuela]]'s [[Consejo Nacional Electoral|National Electoral Council]] announced that a [[Recall election|recall]] [[referendum]] on [[Hugo Chávez]]'s presidency would be held on [[15 August]] [[2004]]. |
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==The question== |
==The question== |
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Revision as of 02:59, 14 August 2004
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
The 2004 Venezuelan recall referendum is a referendum to determine whether Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela, should be recalled from office. The recall referendum was announced on June 8, 2004, by the National Electoral Council. It is scheduled ton take place on August 15, 2004.
The question
The question the Venezuelan electorate will be asked in the recall vote is the following:
- Do you agree to revoke, for the current term, the popular mandate as President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela conferred on Mr. Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías through democratic and legitimate elections? YES or NO
Thus, perhaps somewhat counterintuitively, a "yes" vote is a "no to Chávez" vote.
Timing and numbers
The date chosen is significant: Were the recall vote to be held on 19 August or later, Chávez would be into the fifth year of his six-year term and, were he voted out, Vice President José Vicente Rangel would take over and serve out the rest of Chávez's presidency. With the vote called for 15 August, Chávez will not yet be into the last two years of his term in office; an unfavourable result will therefore mean that fresh presidential elections will have to be held within the following 30 days. It is as yet unclear whether or not Chávez would be eligible to stand in the fresh election.
For the recall to be successful, three conditions must be met:
- More people must vote against Chávez than the number who voted for him in the 2000 presidential election (3.76 million).
- The turnout must be at least 25% of the country's 14.25 million registered voters.
- There must be more "yes" votes cast than "no" votes.
All Venezuelans aged 18 and up whose names appear on the electoral roll are eligible to vote.
Constitutional bases
The recall referendum is based on two articles of the 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela:
- Article 72: All [...] offices filled by popular vote are subject to revocation.
- Once one-half of the term of office to which an official has been elected has elapsed, a number of voters representing at least 20% of the registered voters in the affected constituency may petition for the calling of a referendum to revoke that official's mandate.
- When a number of voters equal to or greater than the number of those who elected the official vote in favour of the recall, provided that a number of voters equal to or greater than 25% of the total number of registered voters vote in the recall referendum, the official's mandate shall be deemed revoked and immediate action shall be taken to fill the permanent vacancy as provided for by this Constitution and by law.
- Article 233: The President of the Republic shall become permanently unavailable to serve by reason of any of the following events: death; resignation; [...] recall by popular vote.
- [...] When the President of the Republic becomes permanently unavailable to serve during the first four years of his constitutional term of office, a new election by universal suffrage and direct ballot shall be held within 30 calendar days. Pending the election and inauguration of the new President, the Executive Vice President shall take charge of the Presidency of the Republic.
- In the cases described above, the new President shall complete the current constitutional term of office. If the President becomes permanently unavailable to serve during the last two years of his constitutional term of office, the Executive Vice President shall take over the Presidency of the Republic until the term is completed.
Foreign opinion
On 21 July 2004, the mainly Communist GUE/NGL group (European United Left) in the European Parliament issued a press release praising Venezuela's "excellent social programmes" and condemning the image of the country presented by "private media". The press release claimed that President Chávez had promised to respect the result of the referendum, but that the Venezuelan opposition had yet to give the same assurance.
Then, in early August 2004, well-known figures from more than a dozen countries signed a statement urging support for President Chávez. The statement expressed "solidarity" with "Chávez [and] the majority of the Venezuelan people" and denounces the "disinformation campaign... orchestrated by the major media". Its signatories included British film director Ken Loach, former British Cabinet minister Tony Benn, the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, the poet Harold Pinter, the Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm, Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, and Argentine Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel.