Venezuelan parliament swears in deputies barred by top court
Xinhua, January 7, 2016 Adjust font size:
The National Assembly of Venezuela, now controlled by the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), on Wednesday swore in three lawmakers barred by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).
The three deputies, all from the MUD, were elected in the southern state of Amazonas but were prevented from being inaugurated earlier by the TSJ due to a complaint filed by their opponents for unspecified irregularities in the ballot.
The former assembly president, Diosdado Cabello of the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP), called this a "flagrant violation of the Constitution and the laws.
He said that since the complaint had been filed with the national electoral council, only the TSJ could decide whether to revise the process and allow the deputies to be sworn in.
"All the actions taken by the assembly while these men act as deputies will be invalid. They are not deputies and they have not appeared before the TSJ," said Cabello.
However, he added that the 54 legislators from the GPP would continue to attend legislative sessions in order to "defend the interests of the Venezuelan people."
On Dec. 16, Jorge Rodriguez, leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, asked the attorney general to investigate the MUD for violating the Constitution and electoral laws in the state of Amazonas.
He also released a video showing Victoria Franchi, secretary-general of governance in Amazonas, talking with an "undercover agent" about how to pay people to vote for opposition candidates. Endi