Venezuela’s highest court ruled Thursday the country’s largest opposition coalition won’t be able to run a joint ticket in upcoming presidential election. The Supreme Court of Venezuela (TSJ) found the decade-old opposition coalition, the MUD, violated the norm of avoiding “double affiliation” – the act of holding membership of two parties at the same time. “This grouping character openly contradicts the prohibition of double membership,” the TSJ said. The court’s decision put a question mark over the future of the MUD, which has sought to unify Venezuela’s disparate opposition parties since 2008.
In its ruling, the court explained, “In the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela one cannot be a member of two political parties at the same time, because the interests of one and the other could coincide in some aspects, but there will always be distinctions, which make this unethical and inoperative.”
The ruling means the MUD won’t appear on the ballot during Venezuela’s upcoming presidential election, which is set to take place before the end of April.
Full Article: Venezuela’s Opposition Blocked from Running Unity Ticket | Venezuelanalysis.com.