The Venezuelans will cast their votes on Sunday in a referendum to decide whether to grant President Hugo Chavez the right to stand again in office, or to maintain the current presidential term limits.Polling stations are due to open at 6 am (1030 GMT) for more than 16 million Venezuelans who are eligible to vote "Si" or "No" in the fifth referendum since Chavez was first elected in 1999.Chavez said victory in the referendum is a key to his transformation of Venezuela into a socialist state, and shrugged off opposition claims that it would send the country on a dangerous path toward dictatorship."On Monday I'll wake up looking beyond 2013, and that will give me more confidence in what we're doing ... and greatly diminish political uncertainties," Chavez said on Saturday.Chavez lost a vote on constitutional reform including the extension of presidential terms in December 2007, his only electoral defeat in 10 years in office. His current term expires in 2013.
In depth
Opponents say a Chavez victory would remove the last remaining check on his power.
Around 100 international observers have been accredited to observe the referendum, but neither the Organization of American States (OAS) nor the European Union have official observers in Venezuela.Chavez holds a slim lead in opinion polls but many Venezuelans remain undecided how to vote.Two pollsters on Saturday -- Datanalisis, which works for the public and private sector, and Consultores 30.11, which works for the government -- gave the 'Yes' vote a lead of between 5 points and 7 points. Chavez has been widening his lead slightly since January, the pollsters said.Both surveys conducted during the final week of the campaign also said more than 10 per cent of Venezuelans who planned to vote still had not made up their minds, making the outcome hard to predict.
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