Venezuela’s opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has dismissed the idea of establishing a government in exile, stating in an interview on Monday that he plans to return to his nation as president in January.
The 75-year-old, whom the opposition claims won against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a contentious July election, left for Spain with his wife in September after receiving threats of arrest.
Asked if he planned to head a government in exile, he told Spanish daily El Pais: “No, no… I am going to be in Venezuela.”
“I left Venezuela temporarily. I knew I was going to return… and the moment is January 10, the date of the inauguration,” he added.
Gonzalez Urrutia said he was “confident” he will not be arrested if he returns and would not announce the date of his arrival so the authorities in Venezuela will not be able to prevent him from entering the country.
Maduro maintains that he won the election despite the opposition claiming to have evidence that he lost by a significant margin.
The United States has acknowledged Gonzalez Urrutia’s assertion of victory, while Spain and other EU countries have only declined to recognise Maduro’s win and have urged the Venezuelan government to provide voting tally sheets.
Maduro faces accusations of leading a heavily repressive leftist regime characterised by a systematic suppression of dissent.
