Venezuelan opposition leader barred from running in parliamentary elections

The Venezuelan Electoral Council (CNE) rejected on Monday an opposition leader's bid to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections after she was barred from holding public office for one year, citing irregularities in her tax declarations.

Maria Corina Machado, former lawmaker and one of the leaders of anti-government protests that shook Venezuela last year, showed up at the CNE to try to register as a candidate for the Dec. 6 vote but wasn't allowed by the institution.

"The government has taken another step in its onslaught against me. They don't want to let me put my name forward as a deputy in the National Assembly," said Machado after her registration was rejected.

Machado had served in the National Assembly from 2011 to 2014. She was expelled from parliament after assuming a post for Panama as an alternate ambassador at the Organization of American States (OAS).

The Venezuelan Constitution stipulates that a public official cannot accept any post from a foreign government.

"It's time to act, this is a grotesque violation of my rights and I call upon Venezuelans to rebel against the government," she said to about 100 supporters.

Machado proposed Isabel Pereira, a Venezuelan sociologist and opposition activist, as a candidate to "represent" her in parliament.

Several opposition figures have been barred from holding public posts over the past few weeks after the General Comptroller's office found irregularities in their income and tax declarations. Endi