EL UNIVERSAL

The Human Rights Commission of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) will deal "urgently" with the issue of political ineligibility in Venezuela ahead of the regional elections to be held next November, said Adriana Peña, the Chairwoman of the Commission.  

The Mercosur Parliament lawmaker is a member of Uruguayan opposition Partido Nacional (PN) party. Peña would not voice her opinion about a complaint filed by the attorneys of Chacao Municipality Mayor Leopoldo López, who is among dozens of public servants whom Venezuelan Comptroller General Clodosbaldo Russián banned from running in the November vote. Peña rather said that some members of the Commission would meet with the plaintiffs and with Russián.

According to Peña, the Human Rights Commission "may issue a statement and make certain recommendations to the Mercosur Parliament in order to call the attention of the government of Venezuela." Mercosur is a trade bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela signed a membership agreement on June 17, 2006, but before becoming a full member its entry has to be ratified by the Paraguayan and the Brazilian parliaments.

If the plaintiffs' allegations prove to be true, "this could compromise democracy in Venezuela" and could also endanger the rules to safeguard democratic institutions that are enshrined under both the Ushuaia Protocol and the Protocol that established the Mercosur Parliament, Peña said to AFP.

There is already a draft declaration in which the Mercosur Parliament states the "need to reestablish immediately the political rights of those citizens who have been hit by the ban, and urges Venezuelan authorities to create a climate conducive to free and transparent elections." 

Gustavo Penadés, a senator of the Uruguayan PN party, raised the issue on Monday during a session of the Mercosur Parliament.

Penadés expressed "concern" about the fact that "many Venezuelan citizens willing to run" in regional elections "were banned by the Comptroller General Office." In Venezuela, there is an attempt at "taking out of the political game some leaders with popular support. Polls show that today's ineligible candidates are the favorites to become democratic elected governors and majors in Venezuela's most important regions," said Panadés. 

Venezuelan news TV network Globovisión confirmed that Mercosur delegates are visiting Venezuela to delve into the case.

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas