Avala Tribunal postergar toma de Chávez …Chavez swearing-in delay legal, rules Venezuela Supreme Court

Caracas, Venezuela.- El Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (TSJ) de Venezuela avaló la postergación del acto de juramentación del Presidente Hugo Chávez como Mandatario reelecto.

La presidenta del Tribunal, la magistrada Luisa Estella Morales, dio a conocer la opinión del Poder Legislativo sobre la controversia creada ante la ausencia del Presidente Hugo Chávez a su toma de protesta el 10 de enero como lo establece la Constitución.

«Hasta la presente fecha, el Presidente Chávez, se ha ausentado del territorio nacional por cuestiones de salud, durante lapsos superiores a cinco días consecutivos. No debe considerarse que ausencia del territorio de la República debe considerarse una falta temporal en los términos de la Constitución, leyó.

«A diferencia de lo que disponían artículos 186 y 187, de la Constitución de 1961, que explicaban que en caso de existir un desfase entre toma de posesión de Gobierno e inicio de Gobierno, el Presidente saliente debía entregar mando al presiente del congreso. La carta de 1999 culminó y elimino tal previsión, lo cual impide que el término del mandato pueda ser considerado una falta absoluta», señaló la magistrada.

Anoche, la bancada oficialista en la Asamblea Nacional (AN) aprobó por mayoría extender por tiempo indefinido el permiso otorgado en diciembre al Presidente Chávez para someterse en Cuba a una operación contra el cáncer.

Chavez swearing-in delay legal, rules Venezuela Supreme Court

Venezuela’s Supreme Court has ruled that the postponement of President Hugo Chavez’s inauguration for a new term in office is legal.
Earlier, the National Assembly voted to give Mr Chavez as much time as he needed to recover from cancer surgery.
The opposition argues that Mr Chavez’s current mandate expires on 10 January, the day he is due to be sworn in.
Mr Chavez is in hospital in Cuba and has suffered complications caused by a lung infection.
Supreme Court President Luisa Estella Morales said it would be «absurd» to consider Mr Chavez’s treatment in Cuba as an unauthorised absence.
She said that the oath of office could be taken at a later date, as the constitution states, and Mr Chavez’s re-election had guaranteed «continuity» in government.
In a televised statement, Ms Morales read out the unanimous decision of the panel of seven magistrates who handle constitutional issues before the court.
She said there was a clear distinction between the act of taking the oath and the beginning of a new mandate.
The Supreme Court considered the swearing-in an important formality, but not indispensable for the start of the new presidential term, she said.
According to the opposition, Mr Chavez should be declared temporarily incapacitated with the current Speaker of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, not Vice-President Nicolas Maduro, taking over as caretaker leader.
They argue that Mr Maduro, who was appointed by Mr Chavez not elected, will cease to be vice-president on 10 January.
President Chavez, who has been in power since 1999 and was re-elected in October for a fourth term, has not been seen or heard in public for almost a month.
Mr Cabello has called on Chavez supporters to take to the streets of Caracas on Thursday to show support for him.
He said several foreign leaders had agreed to be at the Miraflores Presidential Palace on inauguration day.