• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Top Venezuela Court Excludes Opposition From Presidential Election

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
01/26/18
in World
the day of Venezuelan debt default is looming

A street in Venezuela. Photo: Juan Barreto, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Venezuela’s top court excluded the opposition from an upcoming presidential election, clearing the way for unpopular President Nicolas Maduro to win another term.

The late socialist icon Hugo Chavez‘s handpicked successor has drawn criticism at home and abroad, accused of running a leftist dictatorial regime in this oil-rich and once prosperous country whose economy is now a basket case marked by acute shortages of food and medicine and even such basics as soap and toilet paper.

The main opposition coalition, called the Democratic Union Roundtable, or MUD in Spanish, declined to field candidates in local elections in December. It said the voting would be rigged, just as it said gubernatorial elections in October were. In both cases, pro-government candidates scored big wins.

So the parties that make up the coalition had to re-register with electoral authorities. And that was supposed to happen this weekend.

But on Thursday the Supreme Court — accused of being stacked with Maduro loyalists — told the national election council to delay this registration by six months. The presidential election, originally scheduled for December, has been moved up to April 30 at the latest. No final date has been set.

Thus the opposition is now left out in the cold. The court did not state the grounds for its order.

The main opposition coalition in #Venezuela won't even be allowed to participate in the upcoming unfree and unfair presidential election https://t.co/gRrqKq55GQ pic.twitter.com/23V8vyAm5S

— HRF (@HRF) January 26, 2018

The election date change was ordered by the so-called and all powerful Constituent Assembly, a quasi-legislature comprising Maduro loyalists that the president had elected last August to replace the National Assembly, which was controlled by the opposition.

“The Supreme Court is annulling MUD, the most highly voted ticket in history,” said election expert Eugenio Martinez. He was referring the coalition’s sweeping victory in legislative elections in 2015.

Venezuela, hard hit by sharply lower oil prices on the global market, is enduring one of the worst crises in its history. Inflation for this year is forecast to hit 13,000 percent.

From April to July last year angry Venezuelans took to the streets in protest, with 125 people killed as the demonstrations degenerated into clashes with security forces.

The opposition coalition is riven by division and has no clear leader. So many had warned the government might move the elections up to take advantage of that weakness.

Mr. Maduro started campaigning Wednesday at a raucous event with workers. “We are going to win the presidential election in a landslide,” he said.

Almost 70 Media Outlets Close in Venezuela in 2017, Attacks on Journalists Up

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

With Contributions by AFP

Related Posts

Imran Khan
Democracy at Risk

The Opposition Challenge in Pakistan

by Saad Hafiz
October 26, 2021
President Donald Trump and US Attorney General William Barr step off Air Force One upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland last September 1, 2020.
National

US Attorney General Says No Evidence of Decisive Election Fraud

by Staff Writer
December 2, 2020
A man holding a Venezuelan national flag during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro.
World

Venezuelans ‘Dying Slowly’ in Rat- and Roach-Infested Homes

by Staff Writer
October 28, 2020
Protests in Belarus
World

Hundreds Detained, Firearms Used in Third Night of Belarus Unrest

by Staff Writer
August 12, 2020
UK High Court Recognizes Juan Guaidó as Interim Venezuelan President
World

UK High Court Recognizes Juan Guaidó as Interim Venezuelan President

by Victoria Mulville
July 6, 2020
Latin America’s Slums Facing Losing Battle Against Virus Spread
World

Latin America’s Slums Facing Losing Battle Against Virus Spread

by Staff Writer
May 29, 2020
Next Post
Namibian genocide Germany reparations

Germany Asks US Court to Drop Namibian Genocide Suit

False news Michel Gbagbo Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast Ex-President's Son Jailed Over 'False News'

Recommended

Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Ukraine war

NATO Chief Says ‘No Alternative’ to Helping Ukraine Stop Putin

November 27, 2023
Migrants stranded at the Finland border

Russia Warns of a ‘Crisis’ at Arctic Border With Finland

November 22, 2023
People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018.

Earth to Warm Up to 2.9C Even With Current Climate Pledges: UN

November 20, 2023
A woman in Singapore checks her mobile

Singapore and Indonesia Launch Cross-Border QR-Code Payments

November 17, 2023
This illustration picture shows the AI (Artificial Intelligence) smartphone app ChatGPT surrounded by other AI Apps in Vaasa, on June 6, 2023

AI Images of White Faces Are Now ‘Hyper-Real’: Study

November 13, 2023

Opinion

Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Afghan refugees

The Blessed and Cursed Randomness of Our Lives

October 25, 2023
Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post