Supreme public powerThe center-right opposition says the new constituent assembly is a ploy by Maduro to tighten his grip on power. “All the organs of public power are subordinate to the National Constituent Assembly,” said the decree, read out at Friday’s session. The body’s 545 members, all Maduro allies, were elected on July 30 in polls marred by violence and allegations of fraud. “We will not permit any more diverting of power” by the opposition, said the assembly’s president, Maduro’s former foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez. The legislature — controlled by the opposition since late 2015 — was the last state institution still not held by Maduro’s allies.

Source: Manila Times August 19, 2017 03:45 UTC