(Caracas) Venezuelan authorities said Saturday night that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition candidate who claims victory in the July 28 presidential election against Nicolas Maduro, had left the country for Spain, after giving him a safe conduct.
The opposition candidate’s lawyer confirmed his departure for Spain.
“Today, September 7, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia […] left the country. After voluntarily taking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago, he has requested political asylum from the Spanish government,” Vice President Delcy Rodriguez wrote on social media.
“Venezuela has granted the necessary safe conducts in the interest of peace and political tranquility in the country,” she said.
The Vice-President clarified that the safe-conduct was issued after “relevant contacts” […] between the two governments and the necessary measures in accordance with international law.”
Former ambassador, Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, who had agreed to replace opposition leader Maria Corina Machado as candidate at short notice, having been declared ineligible, had been the target of an arrest warrant since September 3 for not having appeared at three summonses from the public prosecutor’s office.
He was unknown to the general public before the presidential election.
Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, whose victory was validated by the Supreme Court on August 22, was declared the winner with 52% of the vote by the National Electoral Council (CNE). He was thus re-elected for a third six-year term.
The CNE has not made public the minutes of the polling stations, saying it was the victim of computer hacking.
Such a computer attack is considered implausible by the opposition and many observers, who see it as a maneuver by the government to avoid disclosing the exact count. According to the opposition, which published the minutes provided by its scrutineers, Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia obtained more than 60% of the votes.