Opposition's parliamentary leader Julio Borges (centre) and First Vice-President of the assembly Freddy Guevara (left) are seen along with supporters during the swearing-in ceremony in Caracas, yesterday.
Caracas: Venezuela’s opposition said yesterday it will seek to trigger early elections by declaring President Nicolas Maduro has “abandoned his post,” launching a new year of political battles in the country.
Kicking off its second year in control of Venezuelan National Assembly, the opposition installed a new legislative speaker and announced a fresh offensive against the leftist president it has vowed to oust.
“In the coming days, we will approve a declaration that Nicolas Maduro has abandoned his post,” said the new speaker, 47-year-old lawyer Julio Borges.
Venezuela’s constitution says the National Assembly can force the president’s replacement by issuing such a declaration.
But Maduro has easily swatted down opposition’s maneuvers against him so far, using his grip on courts, electoral council and military to stymie its previous strategies against him: a recall referendum, a legislative onslaught and street protests.
Borges appeared to anticipate an uphill battle.
“If anyone has doubts about the arguments for doing this, know that since 2013, more than 100,000 Venezuelans have been murdered. More than one million jobs were lost last year. Inflation since Maduro became president is 4,200 percent. One in 10 Venezuelans eats trash from the streets,” he said.
His swearing-in marks the start of opposition’s second year in control of National Assembly, after winning legislative elections in December 2015. But Borges is likely to run into the same problems as his predecessor in the opposition’s top elected office, Henry Ramos Allup.
During Ramos’s year in the post, the Supreme Court invalidated nearly every bill the National Assembly passed.
When lawmakers tried to ignore its rulings, it declared the majority bloc in contempt of court.
Borges appealed to Venezuela’s military to turn on Maduro. “Brothers in the armed forces, Nicolas Maduro is outside the constitution, and that is unacceptable,” he said, to cries of “putschist” from Maduro allies.
Undeterred, Borges called for new general elections, saying: “Let the people decide.”
