CARACAS - Venezuela's elections council ruled yesterday that the opposition lacked enough signatures to force a recall referendum against President Hugo Chávez. Even before the ruling, anti-government rioting surged in at least 11 cities.
Chávez opponents say they submitted more than 3.4 million signatures. About 2.4 million are needed for a recall vote.
But council president Francisco Carrasquero announced that just 1.83 million signatures were valid. An additional 876,016 signatures may be valid, if citizens confirm that they indeed signed the petition. Voters whose signatures were under dispute would have to report to voting centers between March 18 and March 22 to confirm that they had signed.
Venezuela's opposition says that could derail the referendum.
Even before the announcement, protests surged as the opposition anticipated the result. National guard troops in armored personnel carriers rolled through several cities as demonstrators hurled rocks and gasoline bombs.
Chávez's foes view the council's decision as a government plot to derail the referendum, their last chance of legally ousting Chávez before the next elections in 2006. If Chávez were to lose in a referendum held by mid-August, the midway point for his term, new elections would have to be held.
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