Venezuela electoral commission says Maduro recall cannot move ahead

Deisy Buitrago
·1 min read

By Deisy Buitrago

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's national electoral council said on Thursday opponents of President Nicolas Maduro had not collected enough signatures for a recall vote against him to proceed.

The council gave promoters of the vote 12 hours on Wednesday to collect a minimum of 4.2 million signatures, in spite of protest by opposition figures who said it was not feasible and efforts to get the decision reviewed by the country's top tribunal.

The commission's five-member board includes three people connected to the ruling party and two with ties to the opposition, who also expressed chagrin at the 12-hour limit.

"No state reached the 20% required and established by judicial order," commission rector Tania D'Amelio said in a statement. "The national electoral council declares inadmissible the request for a revocation referendum against the president."

The effort received 42,421 signatures, D'Amelio said, representing 1.01% of Venezuela's 21 million-strong voter registry.

Venezuela's constitution allows officials who have completed at least half their term to be removed from office by a vote. Maduro completed the first three years of his second term - which the opposition considers illegitimate - earlier this month.

(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Sandra Maler)

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Technical glitch temporarily closed southern Norway airspace, causing delays at Oslo airport

    A technical problem caused aviation authorities in Norway to temporarily close the airspace over the south of the country Thursday, leading to significant delays at Oslo airport, one of the largest in Scandinavia. The airspace was gradually reopened after more than three hours, but delays would continue throughout the day, the state-owned airport operator said. In a statement, Avinor said “the technical error was at the Oslo Control Center, which meant that the airspace in southern Norway had major restrictions.”

  • Billie Eilish reveals why she isn't dropping singles ahead of album release

    The music superstar has opened up about why she doesn't like releasing singles before an album. "I don't like singles from albums. Every single time an artist I love puts out a single without the context of the album, I'm just already prone to hating on it. I really don't like when things are out of context. This album is like a family: I don't want one little kid to be in the middle of the room alone." On 8 April, Billie announced that she was preparing to release her highly-anticipated third full-length studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft…”

  • Malaysia ex-PM Mahathir facing anti-graft probe in a case involving his sons

    Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is among individuals being investigated in connection with a graft probe involving his sons, the head of Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission said on Thursday. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in January served Mahathir's businessmen sons, Mirzan and Mokhzani, with notices to declare their wealth, as part of investigations into offshore financial and business records revealed by a group of news organisations. The MACC's chief commissioner Azam Baki on Thursday declined to elaborate on the investigations facing Mahathir or his sons.

  • SNP's power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens collapses

    It follows the government's decision to scrap key climate targets and its response to a review into gender services.

  • Junior Andre shares touching photos from Australia visit alongside sister Princess - 'So much love'

    Junior and Princess Andre recently headed to Australia to visit their grandparents and on Wednesday, Junior shared touching photos from the family visit. See photos.

  • Trump allies Meadows and Giuliani indicted in Arizona over 2020 election interference as trial resumes – live

    Former president’s historic ‘hush money’ election interference trial is underway in New York

  • UPDATE 1-Malaysia ex-PM Mahathir facing anti-graft probe in a case involving his sons

    Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is among individuals being investigated in connection with a graft probe involving his sons, the head of Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission said on Thursday. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in January served Mahathir's businessmen sons, Mirzan and Mokhzani, with notices to declare their wealth, as part of investigations into offshore financial and business records revealed by a group of news organisations. The MACC's chief commissioner Azam Baki on Thursday declined to elaborate on the investigations facing Mahathir or his sons.

  • Ukrainian Animal Rescuers Make Perilous Journey to Save Pets Near Donetsk Frontline

    The perilous journey made by animal rescuers in Ukraine towards the frontlines in Donetsk has been documented by a journalist, who described “intense” shelling nearby as members of Animal Rescue Kharkiv recovered dogs, cats, and other pets.Alfons Cabrera told Storyful he accompanied the rescuers, Ruslan and Max, on April 21 as they left Kharkiv for Soloviove and Kurakhove in Donetsk. There they met Aliona, he said, an army medic. According to the Institute for the Study of War’s latest control-of-territory map, Soloviove is less than a mile from the latest Russian advances.Shells can be heard falling and exploding nearby at several points in Cabrera’s footage. “Just lay, because the shrapnel can fly very, very far,” one rescuer can be heard telling Cabrera as they take cover. At one point, Cabrera said, “three projectiles hit nearby” as they drove.“At the end of the day, they carry in their van eight dogs, eight cats, three goats and a rabbit,” Cabrera told Storyful.Cabrera said around 1,000 animals have been rescued by Animal Rescue Kharkiv since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many are offered up for adoption. Credit: Alfons Cabrera via Storyful

  • Minister Roasted Over Government's 'Misleading' Defence Spending Pledge

    Stig Abell asked: "Was your government trying to con us yesterday?"

  • Meet one of Britain's youngest café owners - who customers often mistake for staff

    Meet one of Britain’s youngest business owners – who customers often mistake for staff rather than the boss. Chloe Frost, 18, opened The Baking Suite - her very own café - in October 2023. She initially considered starting an apprenticeship after finishing her A levels in June, but instead decided to follow her ‘dream’ – which had always been baking. Now, Chloe has her own place in Bromham, Beds., and neither she, nor her customers, can quite believe it. She said: “I’ve just always loved baking. After sixth form, I started making and selling celebration cakes on Instagram.

  • In Court, Donald Trump Is a Loser—and Alone

    Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily BeastIf you were a rioter at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, you may have felt the whole world was with you—or the part of the world that supported what you did.President Trump himself had urged you to march to the Capitol Building. A crowd walked alongside you down Pennsylvania Avenue. People chanted with you about attacking Mike Pence, crashed through the police lines with you, helped you to break windows and march through the building.Af

  • ‘Inside Gaza,’ ‘Edgar Hilsenrath the Masturbator’ Among 2024 Pitch Projects at Sunny Side of the Doc

    International documentary marketplace Sunny Side of the Doc has revealed the 42 projects from 21 countries that make up the official selection for its 2024 edition. As always, the projects are topical and eclectic, ranging from Helene Lam Trong’s “Inside Gaza,” that tells the inside story of the ongoing conflict in the region; to Francois-Xavier Destors’ “Edgar …

  • Grieving families looking for answers after report alleges doctor denied life-saving transplants

    Grieving families spoke at a press conference on April 24 of their search for answers after the New York Times published an article on April 18, alleging Dr. J. Steve Bynon Jr. of Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center of manipulating records to ensure select patients became ineligible for receiving transplants.

  • Nevada GOP Senate Hopeful Uses Campaign Cash to Cosplay as a Cowboy

    Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty/Dr. Jeff Gunter For US SenateWhen he launched his campaign for U.S. Senate in Nevada last year, Jeff Gunter presented himself as a gritty frontiersman and a diehard MAGA Republican.Gunter’s opening video depicts him stepping into a Ford F-150 pickup truck—cowboy boots and all—admiring the bucolic western landscape in a burgundy button-down as he talks about his credentials. And in case you had somehow forgotten which state’s Senate seat

  • Third man is detained in a major bribery case that involves Russia's deputy defense minister

    A third man has been detained in a bribery case involving a Russian deputy defense minister, Moscow's court service said Thursday. It said businessman Alexander Fomin is suspected of paying bribes to Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov, who was detained on Wednesday, as well as Ivanov's associate, Sergei Borodin. Ivanov, an ally of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, was jailed pending an investigation and trial on charges of bribery, court officials said in a statement.

  • Frontline Ukrainians Fear New Aid From U.S. Will Be a Disaster

    Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty ImagesKHARKIV, Ukraine—After months of infighting on Capitol Hill, President Joe Biden has finally been able to sign off on a huge new $61 billion military aid bill for Ukraine. Delays to the bill, which got bogged down in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, were widely blamed for impacting Kyiv’s ability to defend itself from Russian advances. After its passage last week, some members of the House waved Ukrainian flags while others cheered in cele

  • UPDATE 1-UK-listed drugmaker Indivior seeks shareholder nod for US listing

    UK-listed drugmaker Indivior plans to seek shareholder approval next month for a primary listing in the United States, the company said on Thursday, which would add it to a growing list of firms leaving the London stock market. Indivior had, in February, announced its intent to shift its listing by the middle of the year to the U.S., which, it argued, reflected its growth opportunities as its proprietary treatments are U.S.-centred and U.S.-based investors account for nearly 50% of its overall shareholder base. The list of UK-based companies that have already listed in the United States includes ARM, the UK's biggest chip company, as well as building supplies firm CRH and plumbing equipment company Ferguson.

  • Scotland's powersharing deal collapses in bust-up between Greens and SNP

    The Bute House Agreement brought the Green Party into government for the first time anywhere in the UK

  • Six easy ways to lose an inch from your waist – in a week

    The calorie maths tells us that for an average-sized person to lose an inch around the middle, it would require a 4lb weight-loss – the equivalent of around 14,000 calories, or the total weekly recommended calorie intake for a woman.

  • Bogus Furry Panic Overtakes Utah School District

    Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/GettyLast Wednesday, dozens of students skipped class to gather outside a Payson, Utah, middle school for hours and chant, “We the people, not the animals!”—a protest launched over the dramatic accusation that their classmates were running wild as “furries” and attacking other students without consequence.Much of the hysteria, however, has been blown out of proportion.Footage from the scene showed them hoisting signs declaring, “Compelled spe