Politics
10:34 PM Chávez announces the beginning of the new Bolivarian decade (2009-2019) and says that he will run for 2013 presidential elections.

09:50 PM  Pro-government demonstrators blocked Francisco de Miranda Avenue, east Caracas, to celebrate the victory of the Yes vote.

09:45 PM  President Chávez celebrates his victory in referendum at the People's Balcony, Presidential Palace of Miraflores. He is delivering a mandatory nationwide radio and television speech.
 
09:37 PM  CNE discloses first official results, with 6,003,544 votes (54.36 percent) supporting Chávez's endless reelection and 5,040,082 people (45.63 percent) endorsing the No vote. Relative abstention amounted to 32.95 percent.

08:49 PM Opposition leader Andrés Velásquez calls supporters of No vote to stay calm and not to leave polling stations. 

07:29 PM Anzoátegui Governor Tarek William Saab, a supporter of President Chávez, said that the fact that he tore up his vote "receipt" was "an unintentional act," and took responsibility for his action, which is considered an electoral offense.

07:15 PM Student leader David Smolansky said "Whatever the result of the election, the student movement will acknowledge it.”

07:10 PM Students arrested by Venezuela's Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (Disip) during a raid have been released

07:01 PM At Avenida Intercomunal de El Valle, in a low-income area southeast of Caracas, people began to celebrate. Pro-government motorcycle drivers are taking the streets

06:35 PM Opposition leader Leopoldo López said that the "audit phase," the most important stage of the electoral process has begun. He urged citizens to "protect votes." 

06:15 PM At the 23 de Enero neighborhood, downtown Caracas, everything is calm. There are no people at the polling stations.

06:11 PM  The National Electoral Council (CNE) announces that the election day is over, excepting in those polling centers where voters are waiting to vote.

05:53 PM At the low-income Caracas neighborhood of Catia, the streets and the polling centers are very quiet. In six polling centers, the poll workers said that 80 percent of voters had already voted. They also said that this has been the best election in the last three years.
 
05:45 PM  Irregular situation between members of the Venezuelan Intelligence and Preventive Services Directorate (Disip) and opposition students in the affluent neighborhood of Las Mercedes.
 
05:15 PM  Polling centers in Petare (poor neighborhood at the eastern part of Caracas) show little presence of voters. According to representatives of the National Electoral Council there was a turnout of 50 percent to 60 percent of the voters. 

04:40 PM Board of directors of pro-government party PSUV states that it would acknowledge results of referendum.

03:25 PM Opposition deputy Ismael García urged Venezuelans to give "a final push" to the No vote, despite what he termed "government's opportunism."

03:03 PM NGO Súmate reports that some groups are engaged in electioneering during the election day.

02:03 PM Student leaders said there are more than 30,000 young people deployed nationwide backing the electoral process.

1: 24 PM Motorcyclists with red clothes -the color that identifies the pro-government sector- are campaigning in favour of the Yes vote in the streets of La Urbina, east Caracas. Neighbors and voters have expressed their rejection of these groups

01:13 PM In New York City consulate, so far 400 of the 2.116 voters registered have cast their votes.

12:46 PM Timoteo Zambrano, International Affairs Commission chair, opposition UNT party, said that difficulties in the Venezuelan Consulate in Madrid related to access of opposition witnesses were solved.

12:08 PM A group of government followers stood in front the Venezuelan Consulate in New York City for electioneering. The city police are evicting them. Low turnout in New York City -only 30 people have voted out of 1,147 people enrolled in the registry of voters.

11:52 AM At the Venezuelan Consulates in Berlin, Frankfurt and New York, voting is running smoothly;  but there is low turnout. In Frankfurt, for instance, only 59 out of 400 voters have cast their ballots, and only 47 out of 142 voters in Berlin.

10: 41 AM CNE director Vicente Díaz said that if voters press the "Vote" button before a checkmark appears on one of the two options, then the voting machine records the vote as null and void.

10:26 AM Eastern Anzoátegui state governor Tarek William Saab cast his vote twice, but no record was written, as established in electoral law.

10:07 AM The electoral process was temporarily halted in Venezuelan consulate in Madrid due to disturbances among voters. It is still unknown when the vote will resume.

09:17 AM Former Executive Vice-President José Vicente Rangel stresses that President Hugo Chávez is to acknowledge the results of February 15 referendum, whether they favor him or not.

08:32 AM  Groups of government supporters riding bikes and wearing t-shirts and hats with messages supporting the Yes vote were seen in La Candelaria parish, downtown Caracas, near balloting centers, shouting slogans in favor of the proposed amendment to the Constitution.

08:21 AM In Caracas, at the Manuel Palacio Fajardo School -the balloting center where President Hugo Chávez is expected to cast his ballot- five cases of null votes have been reported.

08:14 AM In Tokyo, Japan, the vote ended at 4 Jpm (03:30 am, Venezuelan time). The Venezuelan Ambassador made a decision to count the ballots on Monday 16 at 11:00 am.

07:50 AM Director of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Sandra Oblitas said that 77 percent of balloting stations are operating, adding that no major problems have been reported to the top electoral body so far
.
07:46 AM Caracas Metropolitan Mayor Antonio Ledezma, a major opposition leader, cast his ballot at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Firefighter Department.

07:42 AM Ruling party PSUV's vice-president for Lara state and Capital District Aristóbulo Isturiz stresses high turnout in the areas of Catia, 23 de enero, El Valle and Maripérez
.
07:05 AM Infrastructure Minister Diosdado Cabello tells the media that the members of Chávez's PSUV party have "a list of people they have to pick up and take to balloting centers."

06:00 AM Election day begins; balloting centers are open.