CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's elections council ruled Tuesday that the opposition lacked enough signatures to force a recall referendum against President Hugo Chavez. Rioting over council delays had spread from Caracas to other cities before the decision.

Chavez opponents say they submitted more than 3.4 million signatures. About 2.4 million are needed for a recall election.

But council President Francisco Carrasquero announced that just 1.83 million signatures were valid. Another 876,016 signatures may be valid - if citizens confirm that they indeed signed the petition, Carrasquero said.

The council said that voters whose signatures were under dispute would have between March 18 and March 22 to report to voting centers to confirm that they indeed had signed the petition.

Venezuela's opposition claims that such a monumental task, involving hundreds of thousands of citizens, could indefinitely postpone the referendum or derail it entirely.

Even before the announcement, protests surged as the opposition anticipated the result. National guard troops in armored personnel carriers rolled through several cities.