Chavez: I'm not after dictatorship

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that his re-election was ultimately down to the Venezuelan people and their vote. "They say my personal goal is to perpetuate myself in power; nothing could be further from the truth," Chavez told a group of military garrison chiefs, AFP said.

"What we have here is a national independence project that still needs more work to consolidate. It's not consolidated yet," he said in Maracay, 80 km (50 miles) west of Caracas.

Chavez, denying accusations that he is seeking dictatorship in the Latin American country, said that a despotic ruler would never seek the public vote before making decisions. "When does a tyrant appeal to the people? When does a tyrant consult the people?" said Chavez. "Nothing can be more legitimate and right than calling on the people ... what the people decide will be carried out. It's the will of the people that will be imposed for certain."

The Venezuelan leader and his supporters are attempting to convince the people that the government's socialist agenda is in their best interest and can be fully carried out, should Chavez remain in power.

Opposition parties have set up a pressure group to reject the measure, calling their movement 'Angostura', warning of the dangers of unlimited political power. The group is named after a speech by Venezuelan founding father Simon Bolivar. The Venezuelan president narrowly lost a similar referendum last year.