The opposition newspaper El Nuevo Pais reported on Monday that 2.4 million signatures had
been collected by Sunday. It added that the figure would reach more than three million.
The legal requirement for a referendum is 2.1 million.
"The referendum will show that at least two out of every three Venezuelans want the
president to leave," editor Rafael Poleo said in a front page column.
According to Venezuelan law, the president can be removed after mid-term in
office.
Chavez was ousted from power for two days, following a coup in April 2001 and by a general
strike a year later.
Chavez cries foul
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Chavez still commands immense
following among the poor |
The embattled president accused the opposition of trying to remove him fraudulently. He said
on state television that the petition drive was "shaping up to be an attempted mega-fraud
that the Venezuelan people will not tolerate".
He pointed out to discrepancies between signatures and electoral rolls and said signers had
been pressured.
William Lara, a former legislator and staunch Chavez supporter, called on the president's
supporters to hold a rally.
Lara added that he would "inform international observers" of the "irregularities that
clearly characterise a fraud on the part of the opposition."
The opposition had sent out vehicles to transport voters who had not yet cast ballots to
the polls.
"Let's all go towards the mega-victory of peace, reconciliation and democracy," said Enrique
Mendoza, leader of the Democratic Coordinator, the umbrella group that brings together the
leading anti-Chavez forces.
Tight security
Sixty thousand troops and 12,000 extra police were deployed across the country to prevent
incidents. The opposition complained that some soldiers held up the petitioning with demands
for identity papers.
Chavez enjoys massive support among poor Venezuelans for his populist policies, but is seen
with distrust by the business community and many in the middle class who accuse him of
ruining the economy.
The president announced last Friday that he would run for another six-year term in the 2006
election.