(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s opposition-led National Assembly approved a rule change on Tuesday that will allow exiled lawmakers to vote in sessions ahead of next month’s election for head of the legislative body.
The opposition hopes the rule will bolster Juan Guaido’s chances of re-election as head of the assembly on January 5 after nearly two dozen lawmakers fled the country or are in hiding after having been stripped of their immunity this year, exposing them to criminal prosecution. The assembly’s Vice President Stalin Gonzalez said Guaido currently has the votes needed to be elected.
The rule says that lawmakers who cannot attend sessions due to political persecution or force majeure can vote remotely. Maduro’s lawmakers said they would ask the Supreme Court, stacked with government allies, to overturn the decision. The high court has already ruled all National Assembly actions null.
“The government is looking to pull lawmakers from the opposition to weaken Guaido and endanger his entire project as president of Congress and as interim president of the country,” said Luis Salamanca, a political science professor at the Central University of Venezuela.
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