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Venezuela's electoral authority strikes blow to opposition's attempt to oust president

Xinhua, April 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

President of Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) Tibisay Lucena stated Friday that the opposition's attempt to hold a referendum seeking to oust President Nicolas Maduro did not meet the necessary requirements of the electoral law.

In an interview with the Globovision TV, Lucena said that she was not deliberately curbing efforts by the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) to oust Maduro.

"The CNE has no intention of speeding up or delaying any demand. We only seek to fulfill the norms which benefit the Venezuelan people. (The opposition) has tried to make a demand that does not meet the requirements," affirmed Lucena.

She added that the CNE had clearly laid down the requirements in 2007 for a referendum to recall the head of state but that the opposition's current demands fall short.

"It must meet all requirements, no matter what parties are in the assembly. That is the only thing we ask for," explained Lucena.

However, she noted that political parties did not have the power to arrange a recall referendum, as such an initiative must come from the Venezuelan people. Endi