Edmundo González ‘challenges’ Maduro: “On January 10th I will take office as president-elect”
The Venezuelan opposition leader intends to return to his country to take office and will do so “as soon as possible.”
Edmundo González Urrutia has been in Spain since September 8 after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs negotiated an agreed exit for the Venezuelan former presidential candidate from Caracas with the regime of Nicolás Maduro. Taking refuge in the Dutch embassy, the opposition leader received a Spanish safe-conduct pass and has been in Madrid for almost a month after the Spanish government granted him political asylum.
Now living a normal life and not being politically persecuted, Edmundo González participated on Friday in the La Toja Forum, in the Galician town of O Grove, in Pontevedra, a forum in which former presidents Mariano Rajoy and Felipe González have also participated.
The opposition leader speaking to the press warned Nicolás Maduro that he will return to Venezuela on January 10, the day on which the Venezuelan president’s inauguration is scheduled. Maduro’s government is convinced that the current president will be sworn in on that day, however, the opposition leader has already hinted that he will “attend” and take office as “president-elect.”
“I will return as soon as possible”
“January 10 is the date constitutionally set for the inauguration and I hope that the popular will of eight million Venezuelans is certified on that day” said the opposition member, who also had time to joke about Maduro’s “early Christmas”: “If President Maduro brought forward Christmas, it would not be strange if I could bring forward my return as well.”
González Urrutia remains convinced that he won the presidential elections last July 28, an idea which is held by the Venezuelan opposition and supported by more than 30 countries, and that now has a new ally, the Carter Center.
The US organization was an international observer and claims to have the electoral records in its possession and has concluded that Edmundo González Urrutia won the elections with 67% of the votes, compared to 31% that Nicolás Maduro would have obtained. The National Electoral Council, controlled by the Bolivarian regime, declared Maduro the winner with 51.95% of the votes, while González Urrutia obtained 43.18%.