Venezuelan high court reinstates opposition mayor _ after panel annulled his election

Venezuelan court reinstates anti-Chavez mayor

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s highest court has reinstated an opposition mayor, just one week after it annulled his election and replaced him with a supporter of President Hugo Chavez.

The decision came from justices on the Supreme Court’s constitutional council — the tribunal’s highest authority.

They overturned a ruling handed down by the court’s electoral council annulling the 2008 election of Jorge Barboza, mayor of the Sucre municipality in western Zulia state. That ruling said Barboza failed to pay $292 in local taxes.

The constitutional council announced in a statement Thursday that last week’s ruling was unconstitutional because it violated Barboza’s political rights.