Venezuelan opposition leader proposes temporary authorities for transition

Venezuelan opposition leader Omar González has proposed appointing temporary authorities to lead the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) and the National Electoral Council (CNE) as part of a transition toward institutional recovery. González, who recently returned to Venezuela after more than a year in exile, voiced concern that the standard process for selecting new magistrates for the highest court could take many months.

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The timelines for us are very long. This behemoth they are creating for the Supreme Court of Justice, if they follow those steps, will take four, five, six months. And those authorities, according to the Constitution, would be in office for 12 years.

"The timelines for us are very long. This behemoth they are creating for the Supreme Court of Justice, if they follow those steps, will take four, five, six months. And those authorities, according to the Constitution, would be in office for 12 years," González stated. He advocated for provisional officials whose tenure would be limited to the transition period, emphasizing that Venezuela is in an "exceptional moment" requiring "exceptional measures."

González believes the same approach should apply to the electoral body, suggesting a National Electoral Council that is "equally honest and transparent, but temporary." He explained that the definitive renewal of these institutions should occur after a new government is installed, which would then lead the process of reinstitutionalization. The opposition leader asserted that Venezuela faces an accumulation of crises demanding responses different from those used during normal times.

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We are in an exceptional moment. That is, exception needs exceptional measures. Decent, honest judicial authorities, but temporary.

Upon his return, González also reflected on his time abroad, including a period of about 18 months confined in the Argentine embassy in Caracas under what he described as "inhumane conditions." He was eventually brought out of the country in May 2025, following what he termed an unprecedented operation in international law concerning alleged violations by the Nicolás Maduro regime of the Geneva and Caracas agreements. He acknowledged support from the government of the United States in this process.

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As well as a National Electoral Council, equally honest and transparent, but temporary. After we elect a new government, the reinstitutionalization of the country will come.