Venezuelan parliament, gov't at loggerheads over Maduro's presidency

Venezuela's political crisis exacerbated on Sunday as the opposition-controlled parliament accused the government of blocking its campaign against President Nicolas Maduro, local media reported.

The National Assembly, whose majority of seats are owned by the right-wing Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), convened an emergency session and issued a 10-point proposal to deprive the government of its legitimacy and restore "constitutional order," El Nacional daily said.

Lawmakers' proposals included declaring a "breakdown of constitutional order and ... a coup d'etat committed by Nicolas Maduro," reported El Nacional.

The opposition also demanded "the National Armed Forces disobey" the government's orders, and called for nationwide protests on Wednesday, when the second phase of the recall referendum signature drive against Maduro was expected to begin.

The emergency session followed the government's decision earlier this week to postpone a recall referendum to strip Maduro of his job.

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) put off the referendum, saying there were irregularities in the signature drive.

In response, lawmakers agreed to begin the process of designating new leadership for the CNE and new judges for the Supreme Court of Justice, saying the two bodies favor Maduro and the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

Maduro is currently in the Middle East on a tour of oil-exporting countries to shore up declining oil prices.

Elias Jaua, a PSUV leader, called for dialogues with the opposition to defuse the tension.

"We are in time to resume the dialogue ... to put the people first," Jaua said in a televised news show broadcast on channel Televen.

Lawmakers agreed to hold another emergency session on Tuesday to "assess" the situation. Endi