Venezuelan court freezes opposition primary

A Venezuelan court today suspended the validity of a presidential primary held by the government's political opposition ahead of 2024 elections the government has vowed will be free and fair.

The electoral chamber of Venezuela's supreme court early today said it was "suspending for all effects" the opposition's presidential primary election held on 22 October and won by former lawmaker and election watchdog María Corina Machado. The court also demanded that all electoral materials be surrendered to it, including the act appointing Machado as winner.

This is the first time a Venezuelan court has taken such an action in a primary.

This decision comes after the US on 18 October temporarily lifted sanctions against Venezuela targeting the oil and natural gas sector after the government of President Nicolas Maduro and an opposition coalition agreed to work together for free elections next year. The US has alleged fraud in Venezuela's previous elections.

Primary organizers nationwide were also summoned on Monday morning before Maduro-appointed Attorney General Tarek William Saab.

The court said it was answering a petition by Jose Brito, a one-time opposition politician now turned pro-Maduro lawmaker, filed on the day after the primaries. Brito went before the solicitor general's office earlier this year to request that a ban on Machado running for office from 2015 be re-imposed. Officials in June granted his petition, which is now the basis for government action against Machado.

By Carlos Camacho