Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his supporters scored a significant victory on February 15, winning a national referendum to amend Venezuela’s constitution and allow the Venezuelan leader to run for re-election in 2012. With almost 95% of the votes counted, the results indicated that approximately 54.4% of Venezuelans approved the measure while only 45.6% voted in opposition. This was Chávez’s second attempt to end term limits. He tried this 15 months ago and failed, and in regional elections in November the opposition made significant gains, leading many to believe Chávez’s proposal might be defeated again in Sunday’s vote. But with just over 67% of eligible voters turning out to cast their ballots, the referendum prevailed. And while the wording of the referendum presented to voters on electronic voting screens across the country never mentioned the word "re-election," the vote did end term limits for all elected officials in Venezuela.