The Venezuelan government will on Friday close its constitutional amendment campaign aimed at paving the way for unlimited presidential terms, President Hugo Chavez announced in Caracas Wednesday.

The campaign will end Friday midnight following two rallies, one on Thursday on Bolivar Avenue in the center of the capital, and the other Friday at Miraflores Palace, the headquarters of the national government, local media reported.

Also, the Electoral National Council will on Friday set up 34,662 voting stations in the country's 23 states in preparation for a referendum on Feb. 15, which could allow Chavez and all other elected officials unlimited re-elections.

Almost 17 million people will cast their votes in the referendum.

This is Chavez's second attempt to seek unlimited re-elections. The constitution was amended one year after he was first elected in 1998 to allow him to run for a second term in 2006.

Chavez had also proposed amendments to the constitution in 2007,seeking to extend his six-year presidential term to seven years and lift presidential term limits. But the proposal was turned down in a referendum.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2009)