Venezuela’s opposition leader is vowing to fight on, despite being barred from holding political office for 15 years.<br /><br /> State governor Henrique Capriles was seen as the opposition’s best hope of defeating President Nicolas Maduro in elections scheduled for 2018.<br /><br /> Authorities though have now disqualified him for what they call “administrative irregularities”.<br /><br /> The ban is all the more reason to mobilise, Capriles told supporters in Caracas, urging them onto the streets on Saturday to protest against a president accused of leading Venezuela to dictatorship by cracking down on dissent.<br /><br /> #UPDATE Venezuela opposition leader Henrique Capriles effectively banned from running against president https://t.co/XQbr5UIZdV pic.twitter.com/Jfy3IYW72M— AFP news agency (@AFP) 8 avril 2017<br /><br /> Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate and current governor of Miranda state, was defiant as he addressed an emotive crowd at a small sports arena in the capital.<br /><br /> “You can shove your disqualification where the sun doesn’t shine,” said Capriles, flanked by opposition leaders. <br /><br /> “This is not one person’s struggle, this is not Capriles’ struggle. This is the Venezuelan people’s struggle.”<br /><br /> Leftist President Maduro maintains he is defending the legacy of the late Hugo Chavez. But Venezuela has the world’s highest inflation rate and crippling shortages of food and medicine.<br /><br /> The ban on Capriles is likely to further fuel the latest wave of protests that erupted after the Supreme Court assumed control of the opposition-led Congress. The outcry forced the court to back down but the demonstrations continued.<br /><br /> A young man died in violence around protests on Thursday.<br /><br /> Venezuela opposition turns ire on Supreme Court judges https://t.co/rssfXb5q31 pic.twitter.com/q8sY7yO2cD— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) 2 avril 2017<br /><br /> with Reuters<br />
