(Guardian) - The Venezuelan parliament was today debating whether to lower the country's voting age from 18 to 16 as part of a series of proposed changes to the constitution.
Other controversial proposals included allowing the president, Hugo Chavez , to remain in power for life by scrapping term limits, and introducing powers to detain citizens without charge during national emergencies.
Supporters of Mr Chavez are keen to lower the voting age as this could give him a lead over his opponents. The majority of his grass-roots supporters are poor and typically have more children than wealthy Venezuelans.
5pm
The Venezuelan parliament was today debating whether to lower the country's voting age from 18 to 16 as part of a series of proposed changes to the constitution.
Other controversial proposals included allowing the president, Hugo Chavez , to remain in power for life by scrapping term limits, and introducing powers to detain citizens without charge during national emergencies.
Supporters of Mr Chavez are keen to lower the voting age as this could give him a lead over his opponents. The majority of his grass-roots supporters are poor and typically have more children than wealthy Venezuelans.
If the proposals are approved by the congress, which is dominated by Chavez supporters, they will be put to a referendum in December.
Mr Chavez has said the changes will help to make Venezuela more socialist and are "imperative for the revolution".
One of the most controversial of the proposals would give the president the right to declare longer periods of national emergency, a move contested by human rights campaigners.
The current Venezuelan constitution allows national emergencies to be declared for up to 60 days, but under the proposed changes a state of emergency could be maintained "while the causes that motivated [it] continue".
Human Rights Watch has said the constitutional changes would violate international law and could lead to a "brutal exercise of power" during national crises.
"Recent Latin American history shows that it is precisely during states of emergency that countries need strong judicial protections to prevent abuse," said Jose Miguel Vivanco , of the human rights organisation .
Additional proposed changes to the constitution include funnelling billions of the government's dollars to local community councils; allowing Mr Chavez to appoint regional officials, bypassing opposition governors elected to power; giving the government power over the central bank; and cutting the working day to six hours.