Caracas, Venezuela, Jan 29, 2018 / 16:34 pm
Archbishop Diego Padrón of Cumaná, former president of the Venezuelan bishops' conference, denounced plans to advance presidential elections in the country by more than seven months.
"In any country in the world, democracy operates with clarity, with transparency. Instead, [this] is a midnight ambush," the archbishop told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language sister agency, Jan 24.
The country's National Constituent Assembly issued a decree on Jan. 23 to move up the elections that are usually held in December to no later than April 30, a measure that was "approved by acclamation" according to Delcy Rodriguez, the president of the assembly.
The Archbishop of Cumaná said that "as a Venezuelan, it is my opinion that moving up the date for elections has no legal basis."