A constitutional referendum that will decide on the unlimited re-elections for President Hugo Chavez and other elected officials began early Sunday in Venezuela.

Nearly 34,000 electoral posts, all automated, were set up across the country since last Friday for the Sunday voting.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greets supporters after casting during a referendum in Caracas February 15, 2009. [Xinhua]

Tibisay Lucerna from the Electoral National Council (CNE) said that the official voting time was 6:00 to 18:00 Sunday, but the posts won't be closed as long as there are still voters waiting to cast their ballots.

The CNE is expected to disclose the first results of the referendum some two hours after the closing of the ballot.

Lucerna also urged the media not to broadcast the vote results before the CNE makes an official announcement.

Venezuelan citizens get their fingers daubbed in ink after voting in a referendum on a constitutional amendment at a polling station in Caracas, Venezuela, on Feb. 15, 2009. The closely-fought referendum, to be decided by a simple majority, is on changing the constitution to scrap term limits for mayors and governors as well as for Chavez, whose current term expires in 2012. [Yin Nan/Xinhua]

Many Venezuelans got up early on Sunday for the referendum, and President Chavez's supporters roamed the streets in cars and motorcycles loaded with loudspeakers and fireworks.

Nearly 17 million people are expected to cast their votes on Sunday. If the constitutional amendment proposed by President Chavez was approved, he would be able to run for another presidential term in 2012.

Chavez was first elected in 1998 and reelected in 2006. The constitution was amended one year after his first election to allow him to run for a second term.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2009)