Venezuela Needs to Elect New Parliament – President Maduro

It is necessarily for Venezuela to elect a new parliament as the current convocation of the legislature is attempting to stage a coup, President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday.

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – On January 10, the parliament declared that Maduro abandoned his post as result of dereliction of duty, but the Supreme Court of Justice stated that the National Assembly does not have the constitutional powers to declare abandonment. Maduro classified the parliament’s actions as a coup attempt.

"Venezuela needs new National Assembly," Maduro said during a press conference broadcast by local TV channels, adding that all efforts of the current convocation of the parliament are aimed at overthrowing him.

Relations between Maduro and the parliament have been strained since the election of a new opposition-controlled legislature last January. In October, the National Assembly voted for initiating impeachment proceedings against Maduro and ordered him to appear at a Congress session on November 1. The parliament’s resolution mentioned the president’s "criminal and political liability and neglect of office."

However, the Venezuelan government dismissed the move, since impeachment is not stipulated by the country’s constitution as a legal procedure. On November 1, the parliament suspended the impeachment proceedings.

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