Ratification Referendum: An indelible mark of democracy around the world

It has been 21 years since Commander Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was reaffirmed as President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela through the Referendum held on August 15, 2004.

At that time, Chávez won the victory with 58% of the total votes in his favor, with resounding support for his administration and for the Bolivarian Revolution.

Political polarization in Venezuela influenced the name chosen for this electoral process, which was called by the Venezuelan opposition a “recall referendum”, while on the contrary, the people called it a “ratification referendum”. This call was based on two articles of the 1999 Constitution.

The call, which was being held for the first time in the political history of Venezuela and the world, was announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) on June 3, 2004, the day when Chávez, on the national radio and television channel, emphasized the political victory that this call meant, since the opposition took the democratic path after so many shortcuts outside the law. “We brought them back to the Constitution,” he said.

The day began with bulldovers, rockets and cornets at 3 in the morning, in order to wake Venezuelans up to vote promptly and lasted until midnight due to the number of voters who were in the queues, who answered the question “Do you agree to rescind the popular mandate granted through legitimate democratic elections to citizen Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías as President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for the current presidential term? ”.

That night, the CNE announced that out of a total of 9 million 789 thousand 637 votes, the “No” option obtained 5 million 800 thousand 629 votes, in defense of the Revolution (59%), while the “Yes” option reached 3 million 989 thousand 008 opposing votes (40%), with an abstention of 30% and 0.26% of invalid votes.

The final results, announced on August 18, by the Electoral Power, were even more favorable to the “No” option, with all the votes being counted, where it was reaffirmed that the request for the cessation of the government of Commander Chávez was rescinded. Abstention from that process was 30.08%, one of the lowest recorded in Venezuela.

This fact is a historic example that left an indelible mark on democracy around the world.

Mazo News Team