Venezuela's Supreme Court appoints elections comission

The Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice appointed new members of the National Electoral Council on Friday, escalating the confrontation with the opposition-majority National Assembly. The National Assembly has previously refused to acknowledge the actions of the magistrates. The country's highest court, which is controlled by the government, appointed officials close to the socialist government of Nicolas Maduro.

The new rectors of the electoral body are Indira Alfonzo and Gladys Gutiérrez, both magistrates of the Court; former congressman Rafael Simón Jiménez; Tania D'Amelio, current member of the Electoral Power, and José Luis Gutiérrez.

Indira Alfonzo was appointed as president of the electoral body, while Jiménez remained as its vice-president and the rest as rectors.

In 2018, Alfonzo was indexed in a Canadian list of Venezuelan officials for violating democracy and human rights.

The appointments take place a week after the Court declared that Congress made an "unconstitutional omission" in the selection process for electoral authorities that had been underway for several months.

With the sentence, the highest court excluded the National Assembly from the election of the electoral authorities.