Members congregate in the National Assembly. Photo: AN.
On Tuesday, Venezuela’s National Assembly (AN) approved a 48-hour extension for the Special Commission designated to evaluate the credentials of candidates for the positions of attorney general and ombudsperson, so that it may present a new report to the National Parliament for the selection of these officials.
“It is approved unanimously,” reported the president of Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, during Tuesday’s ordinary session. “Consequently, deputy president of the Special Commission, please activate all the necessary mechanisms to evaluate the credentials of those who participated and to incorporate new credentials from new Venezuelans with relevant information.”
During the parliamentary session, Rodríguez stated that no consensus had been reached on presenting the final list of individuals who went through the respective processes. Consequently, he made a proposal to the plenary granting a 48-hour period to complement the intensive work regarding the call, interviews, and renewed review of candidates’ credentials.
Finally, the president of the AN considered that the extension, similar to that authorized for the Amnesty Follow-up Commission, will help achieve agreement “between poles and between groups that oppose each other but do not hate each other, in order to demonstrate to interested sectors that there is a new political moment in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and we will defend it under all circumstances.”
The Preliminary Committee for Evaluation of Nominations was appointed on Wednesday, February 25, by the National Assembly following the resignation that same day of the attorney general, Tarek William Saab, and the ombudperson, Alfredo Ruiz.
Following those resignations, in an ordinary session, the National Assembly, by qualified majority, appointed lawyer Larry Daniel Devoe as interim attorney general and Saab as acting head of the Ombudsman’s Office.
Ernesto Villegas drops from the race
On Tuesday night, Ernesto Villegas, one of the strongest candidates to occupy the position of Ombudsman, announced that he was withdrawing from the race “to make way for other options with greater possibilities of consensus within the legislative branch and Venezuelan society.”
“I address you to withdraw my candidacy for the position of ombudsperson,” wrote Villegas in a public statement. “I trust that the National Assembly will know how to select a Venezuelan who fully exercises the powers of the position,” he added.
Villegas, a Chavista leader seen by many as a figure of consensus and balance, reportedly did not manage to secure positive assessments within the opposition bloc in the National Assembly, which—despite having a Chavista majority—seeks unanimous agreements to advance in reducing polarization in the country.
Venezuela’s National Assembly Advances 2026 Agenda of Economic Reform and Institutional Renewal
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/CB/SL
Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
