Time for Twiddle-Dumb and Twiddle-Dumber to organize a recount.

He has six years left before he theoretically leaves office, and the closeness of this vote demonstrates that six years is plenty of time for him to figure out a way to cement life rule.

Venezuelans vote down Hugo Chavez’s bid to be ruler for life

Venezuelans on Sunday turned back President Hugo Chavez’s bid to consolidate power and set himself up to rule for life through a series of constitutional reforms.

Chavez conceded defeat early Monday morning after the National Electoral Council showed he had 49.29% of the vote, compared with 50.7% for the “No” camp. Turnout was just 56%.

The narrow vote comes as a shocking rebuke for the anti-American Chavez, who swept to power in 1998 and was reelected last year with 63% of the vote.

The referendum deeply divided Venezuelans, and protesters have clashed in recent weeks. Opponents said the reforms were a power grab by Chavez, and would provide him the means to turn the OPEC nation into a Socialist state, while supporters said the changes would benefit the working poor. The reforms would have eliminated term limits, potentially handing Chavez, 53, the presidency for decades to come.

They would also have given the president control over the nation’s Central Bank, allowed him to appoint loyalists as regionally elected leaders and reduce the official workday to six hours from eight.

Chavez had warned before yesterday’s vote that a defeat could sink his revolution and prompt him to think about a successor. Without a constitutional reform, he will have to step down in 2013.

“He’s going to be an elected dictator,” said 77-year-old voter Ruben Rozenberg about Chavez, who has accused the U.S. government of plotting to thwart the vote.

In New York, tempers flared at the Venezuelan Consulate, where Chavez supporters and opponents waved the Venezuelan flag and shouted slogans at one another. Police barricades kept the groups separated, and no arrests were made.