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Venezuela's highest court rules against shorter Maduro term

By Andrew V. Pestano
Venezuela's top court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, on Monday ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to reduce presidential terms from six to four years -- in an effort to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power -- was unconstitutional and could not be immediately applied. Photo courtesy of Supreme Tribunal of Justice
Venezuela's top court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, on Monday ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to reduce presidential terms from six to four years -- in an effort to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power -- was unconstitutional and could not be immediately applied. Photo courtesy of Supreme Tribunal of Justice

CARACAS, Venezuela, April 26 (UPI) -- Venezuela's Supreme Court on Monday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to cut short President Nicolas Maduro's term from six to four years.

Although the court -- called the Supreme Tribunal of Justice -- said the amendment itself was constitutional, the proposed bill was ruled unconstitutional because it sought to shorten Maduro's current term.

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The Venezuelan opposition, consolidated as the Democratic Unity Roundtable coalition, is attempting to remove Maduro from power. The coalition received a qualified majority, or supermajority, in Venezuela's unicameral National Assembly after parliamentary elections in December.

Justice Arcadio Delgado Rosales wrote in the court's ruling that any amendment that shortens the length of a president's term "will not have a retroactive effect or be applied immediately," writing that this would constitute "an unquestionable breach of the exercise of sovereignty" and would amount to ignoring the will of the people.

National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup said he was not surprised with the court's ruling. The opposition has often condemned the Supreme Tribunal of Justice for acting as an extension of the socialist regime established under former President Hugo Chavez.

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"That was to be expected," National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup told the Latin American Herald Tribune. "The regime wants neither a constitutional nor an electoral exit, because it would lose."

The opposition is also seeking to remove Maduro through a recall referendum. Opposition leaders have criticized the Venezuela's National Electoral Council, or CNE, for lagging behind in providing necessary materials to create a petition that will lead to a national referendum where Venezuelans could vote on whether Maduro should be removed from power.

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