Caracas - Venezuelans voted overwhelmingly yesterday to adopt a new constitution in a clear endorsement of the President, Mr Hugo Chavez's sweeping political reforms. With 74 per cent of the ballots counted, electoral officials said 71 per cent had backed the new charter which scraps the Senate, enshrines state ownership of the oil industry and paves the way for the popular former paratrooper to rule until 2012.
Drafted in 100 days by an elected assembly dominated by supporters of Mr Chavez, the constitution is the flagship of what he has dubbed a "peaceful and democratic revolution" to eliminate traditional political elites and boost social justice in the South American country of 23 million people.
Political analysts said the result was a virtual plebiscite on Mr Chavez's 10-month-old government.