The Venezuelan Parliament, the only institution held by opponents of President Nicolas Maduro, said on Thursday that the court decision to suspend the leadership of the party of opposition leader Juan Guaido, Voluntad Popular, was "null and void" . On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Venezuela (TSJ), considered to have won the ruling camp, suspended the entire leadership of this political group and handed it over to one of Juan Guaido's rivals.
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During this session by videoconference, the Parliament adopted a resolution to "reject this null and void decision" , accusing the TSJ of being "in the service of the interests of the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro". On June 15 and 16, the TSJ had already taken similar measures against two other major opposition parties, Accion Democratica (Democratic Action, Social Democrat) and Primero Justicia (Justice First, Center).
These decisions come a few months before the legislative elections of December 6 which aim to renew the Parliament and which the big anti-Maduro parties decided to boycott, denouncing an electoral "farce" . The National Assembly is currently chaired by Juan Guaido, who considers the presence in power of Nicolas Maduro to be illegitimate and in January 2019 declared himself interim president of Venezuela.
He is recognized as such by more than fifty countries, including the United States, who openly call for the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro and apply various economic sanctions against Caracas. Nicolas Maduro is supported by Russia, China, Iran and Cuba.