Chavez loses president-for-life vote

In a fiercely contested referendum on Sunday, voters said "No" to a raft of reforms that would have scrapped term limits on Chavez's rule, boosted his powers to expropriate private property and allowed him to censor the media in emergencies.

The "No" camp won with about 51 percent of the vote, beating the anti-U.S. president who scored around 49 percent support, election officials said early on Monday.

Celebrations immediately erupted throughout Caracas with caravans of opposition activists cheering, honking horns and waving flags out of car windows. Many said Venezuela had narrowly escaped the imposition of authoritarian rule.

"The reform would have made some frightening changes in our country," said an ecstatic Astrid Badell, 18, pulling a plastic green whistle from her mouth to talk. "It would have practically been a copy of the Cuban constitution, and that would have been a big step backward."

While Chavez remains powerful and popular, it was his first ballot box loss since he first swept into office nine years ago after failing to seize power in a 1992 military coup.

The self-styled revolutionary and close ally of Cuba conceded defeat but said he would "continue in the battle to build socialism."

Chavez also said the reform proposals remained "alive," suggesting he might try to push them through later on. - DDNEWS