Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi Arabia welcomes Palestinian leadership reforms, appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh    Ministry of Hajj issued over 150,000 Nusuk cards for the Hajj of 2025    Saudi Arabia deports 12,866 illegal residents in a week    Pope Francis laid to rest at historic funeral in Rome    Massive explosion at Iran's Shahid Rajaee Port injures over 500 people    SFDA clears first 44-ton medical shipment for Hajj pilgrims    Over 13 million worshipers pray at Rawdah Sharif in a year    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Venezuelan opposition in showdown with high court
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 13 - 01 - 2016

Venezuela headed into ever murkier political waters on Monday as the Supreme Court declared the newly opposition-controlled legislature null and void and the opposition vowed to continue defying the judges.
The showdown between the legislative and judicial branches escalated a notch as the court invalidated all actions taken by the current National Assembly, which includes three opposition lawmakers judges had barred from taking office over an election dispute.
The decision declared the three lawmakers and the National Assembly's leadership in contempt of court and voided the legislature's decisions for as long as the trio hold their seats.
The opposition, which accuses the court of bias for President Nicolas Maduro, said it could not respect the ruling and would continue legislating with the two-thirds majority it insists it rightfully won in elections last month.
"All 112 (opposition) lawmakers are going to continue legislating. This sentence from the Supreme Court of Justice is impossible to respect. We lawmakers are protected by the constitution," said deputy speaker Simon Calzadilla.
Speaker Henry Ramos Allup said the court was "at the administration's service to override the people's will."
The number two figure in Maduro's camp, former speaker Diosdado Cabello, fired back that the legislature itself was in contempt of court.
"There's a (legislative power) vacuum coming, because if the Assembly is in contempt, no one is going to recognize it. We the people are not required to. The other branches of government are not required to," he said.
The court has emerged as a powerful player as reeling oil giant Venezuela embarks on a new era of divided government in the wake of the opposition's landslide win in legislative elections last month, which delivered a crushing blow to Maduro and the "revolution" launched by his late mentor Hugo Chavez in 1999.
The opposition coalition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), accuses Maduro of packing the court with his allies.
A week before the 167-member legislature's new session, the court barred three opposition lawmakers from taking their seats, effectively scrapping MUD's powerful two-thirds majority.
Ramos Allup, the new speaker, defiantly swore them in anyway, setting up a messy political and legal battle.
The opposition's disputed "super-majority" gives it the power to remove Supreme Court judges from the bench, as well as put legislation to a referendum and call an assembly to draft a new constitution.
The opposition has vowed to use those powers to force Maduro from office within six months.
The embattled president, whose term runs until 2019, has meanwhile vowed to fight the "bourgeois assembly" tooth and nail.
Just hours before the court ruling, MUD lawmakers had launched a legislative committee to probe alleged irregularities in the appointment of 13 judges to the 32-member Supreme Court.
Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) used an extraordinary session in the final hours of its legislative majority to push through the judges' appointment, a move the opposition condemned as undemocratic.
The court ruling came as MUD lawmakers introduced a bill on one of their top legislative initiatives, an amnesty for 75 jailed opposition figures they say are political prisoners.
The bill was tabled by Lilian Tintori, the wife of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who was sentenced to 14 years in September on charges of inciting violence at anti-government protests — a ruling that drew international condemnation.
Venezuelans exasperated with empty supermarket shelves, long lines, violent crime and a deep recession voted on December 6 to give the opposition control of the National Assembly for the first time since Chavez came to power 17 years ago.
Political analysts warn the country faces a period of brutal political turmoil.
With rumors of coup plots and counter-coup plots swirling, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino has vowed the military's "absolute loyalty" to Maduro.


Clic here to read the story from its source.