Maduro seeks to keep control of electoral body

Bloomberg

Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro is seeking to use the Supreme Court to accelerate the appointment of electoral officials mainly loyal to his government, laying the groundwork for congressional elections in December, according to seven people familiar with matter.
Maduro’s administration is preparing to appoint an all-new board to the electoral body known as CNE through a Supreme Court ruling as soon as next week, according to five of the people, who asked not to be named because they’re not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.
That would bypass the regular process requiring the vote of two thirds of the opposition-controlled National Assembly. Maduro’s government wants elections in the first two weeks of December, in the hope of ousting supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido from the National Assembly and weakening his claim to power.
A move to unilaterally stack the electoral body with
loyalists would cement Maduro’s international image as a dictator and likely usher in more US sanctions designed to crimp his ability to move money, oil and gold around the world.