(Prensa Latina) - "National Assembly (AN) president Cilia Flores says a reform to the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution might be submitted to a popular referendum by year's end.

The deadline will depend on when President Hugo Chávez presents the final draft to the Legislature, Flores told the state-owned Venezuela de Television.

She added that the President is working on the final text of the Constitutional Reform, 'putting a technical touch on each article.'

'We expect him to present the text in the next few days to be debated at the National Assembly, where it will be discussed three times before being submitted to a popular referendum', Flores explained.

The parliamentary debate might last two or three months... after that, the National Electoral Council (CNE) has 30 days to submit the draft to the popular referendum."