Opponents of Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez warned of greater authoritarian rule after he triumphed in a referendum that could allow him to stay in office for life.

Chavez, who has already been president for a decade in this Latin American nation, said he now intends to stand for a third term in 2012, after winning 54.36 percent of preliminary results in Sunday's referendum.

"The doors of the future are wide open," Chavez boomed from the balcony of his Miraflores palace after winning the referendum, which scraps the previous rules requiring the president to stand down after two six-year terms in office.

Chavez's victory strengthens his mandate, which would normally have ended in 2013, and could prompt him to expand his self-styled socialist revolution, which has led to nationalisations and greater state control over the economy.

In this increasingly polarised country, the opposition garnered 45.63 percent of the vote after more than 11 million people out of some 17 million eligible voters went to the polls.

The US State Department on Tuesday welcomed the "civic and participatory spirit" of Sunday's vote, but urged Venezuela's politicians to "focus on governing democratically" and its people to respect the pluralistic principles of democracy.

US-Venezuelan relations have been strained since Chavez first took office in 1999. In September, they took a turn for the worse after Venezuela expelled the US ambassador and the United States responded in kind.

A champion of the poor

Leftist Chavez is popular with many of the country's poor for his oil-funded healthcare and education programmes, but blamed by a vocal opposition for rising crime, corruption and inflation.

Critics charge that Chavez has too much power, holding sway over the courts, lawmakers and the election council.

"With this result, the president can deepen the path to socialism and he'll be tempted to reinforce the authoritarian character of Venezuela's politics," warned international relations professor Carlos Romero.

There were also alleged flaws in the weekend ballot.

"Chavez won the right to re-election after a process marred with faults," read the headline of the opposition El Nacional newspaper.

The opposition widely criticised Chavez's massive state-sponsored campaign for the vote.

"This was the campaign with the most abuses of public resources that we have ever seen," said opposition member Carlos Vecchio.

The fragmented opposition includes bishops, students and business people but has so far provided no clear alternative to Chavez.

Its leaders are now focusing on elections next year to renew the parliament, which is currently controlled by Chavez supporters.

"We have to analyse what we did well and what we could do much better," said opposition Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma.

A first for Latin America

Venezuela became the first Latin American country to adopt unlimited electoral terms with Sunday's vote.

The proposed amendment was Chavez's second bid to extend presidential term limits after a package of sweeping constitutional changes, including an end to presidential term limits, was struck down by voters in December 2007.

But the vote also comes amid warnings that Chavez's social programmes in this OPEC member nation could be hard hit by tumbling oil prices.

"I think that the greatest challenge the government now faces is governing in the face of crisis and not falling into triumphalism," said Venezuelan analyst Miguel Tinker Salas of Pomona College, California.

As Chavez-dominated national television stations on Monday played patriotic songs and images, the private opposition-led press lauded the high turnout — the most in the last four elections — and reported complaints about voting machines.

In Miami, Florida, Venezuelan opposition groups warned Chavez's new stranglehold on power would trigger a wave of exiles.

"We've got tough days ahead of us, with more repression for opposition members, more persecutions and political prisoners," Venezuela Vigilante director Patricia Andrade told AFP.

"We'll soon be seeing an uptick in Venezuelan exiles. We're already getting calls from people who have decided to leave Venezuela because they know there's no future."

AFP