Venezuela court decisions shake up 2 small parties

Posted on Friday, 06.08.12

Venezuela court decisions shake up 2 small parties
By JORGE RUEDA
Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's Supreme Court has issued decisions
shaking up the leadership of two small political parties, apparently
preventing them from backing opposition presidential candidate Henrique
Capriles.

Capriles condemned the court decisions on Thursday, saying that
President Hugo Chavez's government is resorting to desperate tactics to
keep the parties Podemos and PPT from supporting his candidacy. Both
used to be pro-Chavez but have in recent years moved to the opposition.

Chavez's critics have repeatedly accused the president of wielding undue
influence over the judiciary and using it to go after his adversaries.
Chavez has denied those accusations.

"Only those who are desperate resort to judicial tricks!," Capriles said
in one of several messages on Twitter. "Whatever they do, the majority
of the bases of those political organizations are with us."

The Supreme Court said in a statement on its website Thursday that it
had decided to recognize former pro-Chavez state governor Didalco
Bolivar as the leader of Podemos, rather than established leader Ismael
Garcia, a vocal government critic.

A similar ruling in the case of PPT was announced by the court on
Wednesday. It voided the party's most recent internal elections, which
were carried out in October, and ordered it to hold new elections within
90 days.

The decisions appear to prevent the parties from backing Capriles before
a Monday deadline for parties to specify the presidential candidate they
will support. Capriles and Chavez both plan to formally sign up as
candidates on Sunday and Monday, respectively, as they prepare for the
Oct. 7 presidential vote.

Leaders of the two small parties could not immediately be reached for
comment. Podemos broke with Chavez's government in 2007. PPT, which in
Spanish stands for Fatherland For All, similarly has irked Chavez's
government by defecting from its camp.

The court's decisions drew criticism from others as well. Gustavo
Hernandez Acevedo, a blogger writing on the website Caracas Chronicles,
said the ruling "showcases just how far Hugo Chavez is willing to go to
punish those he sees as traitors."

In the case of Podemos, the Supreme Court said in a statement that it
had decided to review an earlier decision by its Electoral Chamber,
which in March had denied a challenge by Bolivar to an agreement by
party leaders to postpone internal elections.

The court said that Bolivar will lead the party "until the current case
is dealt with in depth." That means Bolivar is to have the last word on
which candidate the party will back in the presidential election, and he
is expected to support Chavez.

On the ballot in Venezuela, candidates' photos typically appear along
with the symbols of parties that back them.

Bolivar, a former governor of Aragua state, previously faced corruption
charges and has changed political loyalties. He split with Chavez in
2007 when the governor refused to participate in the president's plan
for various parties to join together in a single pro-government party.

In 2009, Bolivar was summoned for arraignment on corruption charges and
sought asylum in Peru, saying he was being targeted for political
reasons. He then returned to Venezuela in August 2011 saying he would
face justice. He was jailed but later freed.

Since his return to Venezuela, Bolivar has repeatedly expressed support
for Chavez.

Capriles has the backing of a coalition of opposition parties. He was
chosen in a February primary to be the opposition's single challenger to
take on Chavez.

The leftist president, who was first elected in 1998, is seeking another
six-year term. He has recently scaled back his public appearances after
undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba, and the race so far has been
dominated by speculation about whether his illness may interfere with
his re-election bid.

Capriles has been trailing in the polls, with survey results varying
widely. Some polls touted by the government have given Chavez a lead of
more than 20 percentage points, while others indicate a smaller margin
for the president, some less than 5 percentage points.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/08/2838638/venezuela-court-decisions-shake.html