[NYTr] Venezuela's Constitutional Reforms Ready for the Road Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:49:36 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit See also below: "Venezuelabs Electoral Council Presents Rules for Constitutional Reform Referendum," by Kiraz Janicke Venezuelanalysis - Oct 31, 2007 http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/2789 National Assembly Concludes Revision of Constitutional Reform Proposal by Gregory Wilpert Caracas--On Tuesday Venezuela's legislature, the National Assembly, approved the last articles for the constitutional reform project. A group of leaders and supporters of the opposition party Justice First attempted to enter the National Assembly just as the debate was about to begin, but were prohibited because they did not register with the Assembly the previous day. The original reform proposal, which President Hugo Chavez first submitted last August, encompassed changes to 33 articles of Venezuela's 1999 constitution. Following committee discussions, another 25 articles were added to the reform and then, in the course of the full National Assembly debates, another 11 changes were introduced, for a total of 69 articles out of the constitution's 350. Yesterday, after a relatively short debate, the National Assembly (AN) approved 15 transitional dispositions, which lay out how some of the changes to the constitution would take effect, once approved by the electorate in a nation-wide referendum. Many of these transitional provisions involve how constitutional requirements should be handled until there are corresponding laws to regulate these. For example, the first transitional provision discussed yesterday involved how indigenous representatives are to be elected to the AN, until there is a law governing this process. Venezuela's 1999 constitution allows for three representatives from Venezuela's indigenous tribes. Another transitional provision stipulates that the AN must pass 15 laws that result from the constitution, known as "organic laws." These include a law on popular power, which governs the communal councils, a law for the promotion of a socialist economy, a new law for the territorial organization of the country, a new labor law that takes into account the reduction of the workweek to 36 hours per week, and a new education law, among others. The AN also introduced a new transitional disposition that states that until there is a law for the establishment of a socialist economy, the president has the power to issue decrees "to regulate the transition to a model of the socialist economy." Addressing one of the more controversial changes to the constitution, transitional provision 15 states that the newly extended presidential term of seven years does not apply until the completion of the president's current term in office, in 2013. Main Changes to the 1999 Constitution Among the most important changes to the 1999 constitution that the President and the National Assembly are the following: * An extension of the presidential term from six to seven years and the elimination of the two-term limit on presidential election. * Voting age lowered from 18 to 16 years * Prohibition of foreign funding of political activity in Venezuela * Gender parity in the setting up of candidates for public office * Guaranteed free university education * Prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation * 36-hour workweek * Social security for self-employed * Guaranteed funding for communal councils * Non-independence of the central bank * Toughening of requirements for citizen-initiated referenda Also, the AN proposed to modify the existing provisions for the declaration of states of emergency, so that the right to information would no longer be guaranteed, with the argument that the abuse of the right to information is what made the 2002 coup attempt possible with the cooperation of the oppositional private media. Originally the AN had also removed the right to due process during states of emergency, but numerous protests against this change, including from the country's Attorney General and the Human Rights Defender caused the AN to reinstate this right. Next Steps The National Assembly leadership announced that there will be one more reading of all of the 69 articles included in the reform on Friday, when it will pass all of them in a final two-thirds majority vote, as required by the constitution. Since opposition parties boycotted the 2005 AN elections, all representatives in the AN are Chavez supporters and are thus expected to vote in favor of the reform. One party in the Chavez coalition, Podemos, has dissented from the process, with the argument that the AN is violating the constitution by incorporating changes to the reform that were not part of the president's original proposal and were thus not part of the previous two discussions of the AN. Podemos representatives have submitted a challenge to the process in the country's Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the matter. Once the final version is approved, the proposal will then be submitted to a nation-wide referendum within 30 days, which the National Electoral Council has so far scheduled for December 2nd. *** Venezuelanalysis - Oct 31, 2007 http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/2790 Venezuelabs Electoral Council Presents Rules for Constitutional Reform Referendum by Kiraz Janicke Caracas, October 31, 2007--As Venezuela's National Assembly was putting the final touches to the proposed constitutional reforms Tuesday, the National Electoral Council announced a series of measures to facilitate and regulate the constitutional reform referendum. Since the final constitutional reform proposal is to be passed by the National Assembly on November 2 and a referendum is supposed to be scheduled within 30 days after that, the referendum is likely to take place on December 2. In addition to 350 electoral norms that must be followed by all groups campaigning in the referendum, the Electoral Council (CNE) plan includes a proposal to both opposition and pro-government political parties for a series of nationally televised debates, to be moderated by the CNE that would be held over the four Sundays leading up to the referendum. The debate would involve equal representation from groups opposing or supporting the reforms, including among others, the opposition parties Movement towards Socialism, COPEI, A New Era, Justice First, and pro-government parties and organizations such as Homeland for All, the Zamora Command (group initiated by Chavez to campaign for a bYes' vote) and the Communist Party of Venezuela. In a meeting with party representatives yesterday, CNE rectors Victor Diez and GermC!n YC)pez said the four basic principles for the debates would be respect, plurality, tolerance, and balance and that participants in the debates should abide by these four principles. YC)pez emphasized that the CNE views it as very important that the Venezuelan people know the content and the effects of each of the 69 articles that comprise the proposed constitutional reform. In addition to the initial 33 changes proposed by President Chavez on August 15, the National Assembly has proposed changes to a further 36 articles. If adopted, the reforms would allow for presidential reelection, "states of emergency" that would restrict the right to information, as well as recognizing the social "missions," community projects that Venezuela's poor in areas like health and education as part of the country's state. They also include a series of other measures, such a reduction in the workweek to 36 hours, make it easier for the government nationalize companies, and give workers in the informal sector the right to social security. The reforms would also enshrine the role of institutions of "popular power", which Chavez has said would constitute the "the basic nucleus of the socialist state". The CNE has also said that the campaign can only be carried out by political parties and organizations that register with the CNE. At present eighteen different citizens groups have registered with the CNE to campaign in the referendum. The CNE has said the organizations should group themselves in blocs campaigning for a bYes' and bNo' vote. While the CNE will regulate campaign material in the referendum it will not regulate information about the content of the reforms in the media. However, in a meeting with the editors of Venezuela's major daily newspapers Cltimas Noticias, El Mundo, Diario VEA, El Nacional, Notitarde, La Calle, El AragueC1o, El Siglo, 2001, The Daily Journal, and Panorama, on October 24, CNE director Tibisay Lucena said the role of the media is to disseminate the content of the reform in a responsible and balanced fashion. In response to a question by media representatives in relation to opinion columns, Lucena confirmed these would not be regulated by the CNE, "We are not censuring anyone. In Venezuela there is freedom of expression and it will continue existing. Peoples opinions are their opinions." Additionally she said the media could carry out opinion polls, and consult the population until seven days before the referendum as is the established practice in Venezuelan elections. The CNE also carried out a test of Venezuela's electronic voting system on October 27 and confirmed that it is functioning with normality. * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================