Venezuelan authorities have granted permission to take Edmundo safely to Spain González Urrutia, the opposition candidate claiming victory in the July 28 presidential election against Nicolás Maduro, reported France Press, quoted by BTA.
"On September 7, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia left the country. After he voluntarily fled to the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago, he requested political asylum from the Spanish government. "Venezuela has ensured the necessary safe procedures in the interest of political peace and tranquility in the country," Venezuelan Vice President Delsey Rodríguez wrote on social media.
Former ambassador Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, who agreed to replace illegitimate opposition leader María Corina Machado as presidential candidate, has been the subject of an arrest warrant since September 3 for failing to appear on three summonses for questioning at the prosecutor's office.
Before the presidential election, he was unknown to the general public.
Socialist President Nicolás Maduro, whose victory was confirmed by the Supreme Court on August 22, was declared the winner with 52% of the vote by the National Electoral Council. He was thus re-elected for a third six-year term. The council did not make the polling station records public, claiming it was the victim of a hacker attack.
The opposition and many observers do not consider such a computer attack credible and see in this justification a maneuver by the government to avoid publicizing the exact vote count. According to the opposition, which published the minutes provided by its enumerators, González Urrutia received more than 60% of the vote.