Chavez eases to Venezuelan recall win

President Hugo Chavez survived a popular referendum to oust him in a vote that attracted so many Venezuelans that they overwhelmed ballot stations, according to results announced today.

Backers of the president immediately set off fireworks and began celebrating in the streets of the capital in the pre-dawn darkness.

President Chavez, in a speech from a palace balcony, claimed victory.

According to the National Elections Council, 58% of voters voted “no” to the question of whether Chavez should immediately end his term in office, and 42% voted “yes” with 94% of the votes counted.

There was no immediate reaction from former US President Jimmy Carter or Cesar Gaviria, head of the Organisation of American States, who helped monitor the vote.

Questions about the future of the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter have contributed to record high oil prices. Today, crude oil prices hit a new all-time high of $46.90 per barrel amid uncertainty about Chavez’s rule and continuing unrest in Iraq.

The sheer number of voters in Sunday’s referendum – believed to be a record for any election in Venezuela – along with problems with electronic thumbprint ID machines, caused election officials to postpone the polls’ closing to midnight – eight hours later than first scheduled.

They said the polling stations would be kept open until everyone in line voted.

The first-ever recall vote for a president in Venezuela’s history was aimed at putting a lid on years of often-violent political unrest, including a bloody coup, and followed a lengthy and complicated process of mass signings of petitions.