Chávez Wins Removal of Term Limits

By Juan Forero
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, February 16, 2009; Page A10

CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb. 15 -- Fourteen months after his first attempt failed, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez won a referendum Sunday to eliminate term limits, paving the way for him to rule far into the 21st century to carry out his socialist transformation of this oil-rich country.

With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, the National Electoral Council announced Sunday night that the government had won handily, garnering more than 6 million votes, or 54.3 percent of the vote. Now in the third year of a six-year term, Chávez, 54, can run for office in 2012 and beyond, if he continues winning elections.

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