Edmundo González says that on January 10th he will go to Venezuela to take office as president

Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia claimed on Friday that he was the elected president of Venezuela and announced that he would return to his country on January 10 to take office as president.

González Urrutia expressed this intention today at a press conference after participating in the La Toja-Vínculo Atlántico Forum held in the Spanish town of O Grove (northwest), where he stressed that his stay in Spain is temporary.

When asked when he planned to return to his country, he said it would be as soon as possible, when democracy can be restored.

Shortly after, he recalled that January 10 is the planned constituent date for the president’s inauguration after the elections of July 28, and he hopes that on that day he will be able to assume the popular will expressed at the polls by eight million Venezuelans.

“I will be there on January 10 to take office as the elected president of Venezuela,” he added.

Regarding the future of the current president, Nicolás Maduro, he commented that “whatever he wants.”

In response to comparisons with what was experienced by the opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who was recognized by several countries, including the United States and the European Union, as Venezuela’s interim president, he said that the situations are different, since he was elected by the Assembly and has the support of the polls.

Raise your voice to denounce

González Urrutia, who arrived in Madrid in early September to request asylum after reporting electoral fraud in his country, explained that he had to leave due to political persecution with “unspeakable pressures and extreme threats” to him and his family, which he said had been the most difficult and demanding chapter of his life.

He called on the international community to recognize the result of the presidential elections after the Carter Center, the US organization that was an observer in the elections, made public last Wednesday the “original” voting records that point to the victory of González Urrutia with 67% of the votes, compared to 31% for Maduro.

In Venezuela, the National Electoral Council (CNE), controlled by Chavismo, maintains that Maduro won those elections, even though it has not published the minutes with the disaggregated results.

González Urrutia said that now it is his turn to raise his voice from the responsibility conferred upon him by his role as “president-elect, thus recognized -he said- by ​​millions of Venezuelans, eight million to be exact, and by a good part of the international community.”

He explained that more than 30 countries, including Spain, signed a declaration last week after a meeting sponsored by the United States and Argentina “recognizing me as president-elect.”

The text of that statement referred to González Urrutia as the person who won “the majority of votes” according to “publicly available electoral records.”

“Every day there is more support for my candidacy as president-elect. And more are yet to join in the near future. I am very pleased,” he stressed.

However, he asked Spain to “do more than ever” to pressure the international community to ensure that the popular sovereignty expressed on July 28 is upheld and respected in Venezuela.