CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday he may seek to lift constitutionally mandated presidential term limits if opposition parties boycott the upcoming December presidential elections. "I might sign a decree calling for a popular referendum -- do you agree that Chavez should run for a third term in 2013?" Chavez said during his weekly Sunday broadcast. "It's not a firm decision, it's something I'm thinking about."| And has been for quite a while. |
Opposition parties boycotted parliamentary elections last December on allegations of electoral authority bias, allowing Chavez's allies to win all the legislature's seats. "If the opposition tries to pull the same stunt of everyone pulling out (of the vote) ... that might strengthen this idea," Chavez said.
Venezuela's fractured opposition parties still have not united behind a possible candidate to face Chavez in December. Many opposition leaders advocated abstention after Chavez won an overwhelming victory in a recall referendum on his rule in 2004. Chavez's critics alleged he won the vote through fraud, an accusation not backed by international election monitors.
| After Jimmuah sold them out. |
Chavez last year opposed a move by one of his allies to end term limits, insisting he did not have any intention of remaining in the presidency permanently. He said the current debate was meant to teach the opposition "a lesson about true politics, so they'll stop being so ridiculous."
| And who would know more about being ridiculous in Venezuela? |