Politique
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Venezuelan lawmakers re-elected Diosdado Cabello as head of the National Assembly on Saturday, while ailing President Hugo Chavez was struggling to recover from his latest cancer surgery in Cuba.
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Cabello remained as parliament speaker thanks to the votes of his majority Socialist United Party of Venezuela (PSUV), putting him in good position for possible caretaker president.
Under Venezuela's Constitution, new elections will be held within 30 days if the National Assembly determines a "complete absence" of the president because of death, physical or mental impairment or stepping down either before taking office or being dead during his first four years in office.
If a new election is called, presidential power should be held temporarily by the speaker of parliament.
The opposition called for naming a replacement for Chavez or holding a new election as it seems practically impossible that Chavez is able to take the oath of office as scheduled on Jan. 10 for his third six-year term.
However, Vice President Nicolas Maduro dismissed the allegation on Friday, saying the ailing president could be sworn in by the Supreme Court at a later date. This is the latest and clearest government statement in response to the opposition's calls.
Cabello also said that Chavez "will still be the president beyond Jan. 10," in his address after his confirmation of parliament speaker Saturday.
Chavez did not need to take another oath in parliament to become the president, since he was re-elected, Cabello added.
Chavez has not appeared before the public since he underwent his fourth cancer surgery on Dec. 11 in the Cuban capital of Havana.
The recent government statement described Chavez's respiratory infection after the surgery as "severe" and confirmed that the 58-year-old president is facing "complications."
Chavez was reelected to another six-year term in October, but the relapse of cancer forced him to undergo the most difficult round of surgery in Cuba two months later.
Before his departure for the operation, Chavez said if his illness prevented him from remaining as president, Maduro should be the candidate of the ruling United Socialist party of Venezuela in a new election.
Chavez's health condition is being watched closely by his allies and members of the opposition amid high uncertainty about his recovery and Venezuela's political leadership.
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