Venezuela Supreme Court: National Assembly Violated Rules
Print This
By Staff Writers, teleSUR
teleSUR
Monday, Jan 11, 2016
|
National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup embraces fellow MUD legislators in parliament. | Photo: VTV |
The Venezuelan Supreme Court ruled Monday that any decisions made by the National Assembly will be void after the right-wing MUD alliance swore in three legislators last Wednesday who were suspended by the Supreme Court while an investigation is underway into voting irregularities in the state of Amazonas.
Members of the socialist PSUV have slammed the move for violating the constitution and have called on the Supreme Court to take action.
“Absolutely null the acts of the National Assembly that have been pronounced, or will be pronounced, while the incorporation of the citizens subjected to the decision of Dec. 30, 2015 is maintained,” the verdict reads.
Former National Assembly president, Diosdado Cabello, welcomed the decision and the opportunity to debate it with the opposition.
“It would be good if they respect the Constitution and the laws, and if we start a debate over the subject,” he told reporters.
The ruling means that the so-called Amnesty Law debated in the National Assembly Monday, a key goal of the opposition, will be disallowed.
The motion proposes the freeing of MUD politicians imprisoned for crimes including inciting violence, the most prominent of which is Leopoldo Lopez, who was jailed for his role in causing the 2014 right-wing violence that lead to 43 deaths.
On Dec. 30, 2015, the electoral chamber of the Venezuelan Supreme Court accepted a request to challenge the results of the Dec. 6 parliamentary elections in the states of Amazonas, Yaracuy, and Aragua, as well as one of the seats reserved for Indigenous peoples.
The Supreme Court also accepted a request for an emergency measure in the state of Amazonas, which temporarily suspended the swearing in of four candidates, three from the opposition and one from the ruling socialist party.
The candidates who have submitted the challenge cite a number of electoral irregularities, including possible fraud, a high number of blank votes and, most importantly, vote buying.
Source URL
|
Print This
|