Comptroller General says nothing new about electoral ban ... many opposition contenders for election candidacies are pressing ahead anyway

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): Comptroller Clodosbaldo Russián said there was "nothing new" about potential candidates being barred or "inhabilitated" from standing at elections, and he claimed the Supreme Justice Tribunal (TSJ) had ruled in favor of his ban on almost 400 people who want to run for office at state or municipal level in November.

While Russían was technically correct, his critics argue that he used his powers in an unprecedented way. They say the Comptroller General's powers apply only to people with criminal convictions issued by a court of law.

The argument has yet to be settled to the satisfaction of either side, and appears to have prompted division at the National Electoral Council (CNE). One CNE director recently opined that in the absence of a definitive ruling from the TSJ, the Russián ban stood, after another had said the banned people could run after all.

Russián said his door was open to anyone who wished to see him. But given his insistence that he's in the right, signs are any of the banned candidates would get short shrift were they to take him up on the implied offer. He claimed that all of the people on his list – who include several prominent opposition contenders for nomination as candidates for the elections – had an opportunity to defend themselves when his investigations began. However, at this time, news of his ban came as a bolt from the blue for most people.

Potential candidates from the mainstream opposition have said they'll press on regardless. That said, Acción Democrática (AD) is acting awkward yet again, arguing that the circumstances mean the opposition would do better to start searching for new unity election candidates.
Unsurprisingly, this arouses suspicions in opposition circles. It's suggested that AD, whose position has slipped in recent years, is out to put forward its own people as alternatives. AD's old rivals, the Social Christians of Copei, expressed solidarity with banned candidates.