Venezuela Constituent Assembly May Become a 'Superpower' After Election

Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly will be able to make decisions defining the authority of the National Assembly, the country’s parliament, and to reform the Office of the Prosecutor General, the head of the government’s election campaign, Hector Rodriguez, told Sputnik.

CARACAS (Sputnik) — On Sunday, Venezuela is holding election of the members of the Constituent Assembly, a new legislative body with the power to amend the constitution. The last time a National Constituent Assembly was convened in 1999.

"In 1999, the first decrees and constitutional acts of the National Constituent Assembly were on regulating the functions of the Congress [Venezuelan bicameral parliament, reformed in 1999], because there were two collegiate bodies at the time, the Constituent Assembly and the Congress, as well as on reviewing the prosecution. It seems that this National Constituent Assembly will take the same path," Rodriguez said.

The country’s parliament is under control of the opposition, and the Office of the Prosecutor General disapproves of the government’s actions in the current crisis, as mass protests have been taking place in the country, and speaks against convening the Constituent Assembly.

According to Rodriguez, under such conditions the National Constituent Assembly is meant to turn into a "superpower," as it will be above other branches and will be able to make legally binding decisions. However, he stressed that the parliament will not be fully excluded from the country’s political life and will be able to make some decision upon approval of the country’s Supreme Court.

On July 16, the country's opposition has held an unofficial referendum, in which 7.2 million people took part and almost 6.4 million of them voted against the Constituent Assembly. Venezuela's population is estimated at over 31 million people.