The "SI" vote on the referendum, which took place during nationwide municipal elections, captured 76 percent of the ballots, according to preliminary results announced at 9:15 p.m. by National Electoral Council President Roberto Ruiz. Voter abstention topped 78 percent, he said.
The now-ousted Federico Ramirez Leon, president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, the country's largest bloc of unions, said he refused to give up his post as mandated by the ballot. "It's evident this referendum lacks all legitimacy," he said, referring to the low voter turnout.
Chavez called the referendum to ask voters whether they wanted to "democratize" unions by suspending top leaders of the union blocs known as confederations, and requiring them to ask the membership base to elect new leaders within 180 days.
Venezuelan unions, which represent a fifth of the country's workforce, are widely considered corrupt fiefdoms where practices like requiring workers to pay "commissions" to leaders for jobs are the norm. Its leaders, who lead lavish lifestyles, are not elected directly by the membership, but by a handful of lower level union delegates in a tightly controlled process.
The International Labor Organization and the AFL-CIO, joined by other world workers' rights groups, lambasted the referendum as government meddling into union affairs and a clear attempt by Chavez to gain power over the country's labor force.
The groups said during a visit to Caracas that international actions, such as boycotts, refusal by dock workers to unload Venezuelan cargo and restrictions on loans from multilateral agencies like the International Monetary Fund, could go into effect if the referendum went through.
But the combative Chavez, who calls the unions "dictatorships," seemed unfazed by such threats. "Let them block us," he told the press.
The labour union referendum was the latest step in Chavez's ambitious "peaceful revolution," which he launched upon taking office in February 1999. Since then the former coup leader has pushed through a new Constitution, and his left-leaning Fifth Republic Movement party has gained control of the legislature and more than half of Venezuela's 23 governorships.
Critics charge that the unions were the only organized group in Venezuela that Chavez did not control.
About half of Venezuelans do not vote in an election, but this vote's high abstention was attributed to election fatigue. It was the country's seventh election in 24 months.
Jose Gomez, 35, an unemployed taxi driver, said he didn't go to the polls because he was tired of voting and "I didn't think my vote was going to count for anything anyway."
Although activities are usually suspended when elections take place, things went on much as normal, such as the baseball game between the Caracas Lions and the Caribs of the East in Caracas.
"This is very serious," said Dilia Parra, the government's public advocate, about the low turnout. "We have to revise the electoral process."