Reporters without Borders (RSF) Monday said the defeat of President Hugo Chávez' intended constitutional reform was influenced by the planned changes to regulations governing press freedom and hoped the result of the vote to put an end to the "media war" in Venezuela.

"We are convinced that the result of the polls was directly influenced by the major issue of the media and the intended changes to provisions related to press freedom," RSF said in a communiqué.

The non-governmental organization reminded that Chávez's intended changes to the Constitution included the possibility for the President of Venezuela to declare states of emergency unilaterally and without time restrictions and, if he deemed it necessary, to suppress press freedom, Efe reported.

The tight vote "echoes the huge divide that is hitting the Venezuelan society." The result should lead "both the authorities and the civil society to commit to take part in peaceful, calm talks about the future of the media and the public freedoms."