CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s former opposition candidate Edmundo González said Wednesday he was forced to sign a letter effectively acknowledging his defeat in the presidential election. July, which electoral authorities say was won by President Nicolás Maduro.
The revelation of the letter is the latest effort for the country’s political crisis, which has been aggravated by the disputed election results and González’s recent departure for exile in Spain. González and the United Platform coalition that ran on July 28 say they defeated Maduro by a wide margin.
The document said it was intended to be confidential, but Jorge Rodríguez, head of the National Assembly and Maduro’s chief negotiator, presented it during a nationally televised news conference hours after a local newspaper published parts of it. . The letter shows González as the sender and is addressed to Rodriguez, who signed it as the addressee.
Rodríguez told reporters that González signed the letter of his will. González, however, in a video posted on social media said he signed it under duress.
“They presented themselves with a document that I would have to sign to allow my departure from the country,” said González. “In other words, I either stopped or I faced consequences. There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure.”
Rodríguez, questioned about González’s video message, threatened to reveal the audio of his conversations with González if he did not retract his claims.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is aligned with Maduro loyalists, declared Maduro the winner of the election hours after the polls closed. Unlike previous presidential elections, the electoral authorities did not provide a detailed vote count.
But the opposition coalition collected the tally sheets from 80% of the nation’s electronic voting machines and published them online. González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said voting records showed the former diplomat won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.
González became the subject of an arrest warrant over an investigation into the publication of the account sheets.
Global condemnation of the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice, whose members are aligned with the ruling party, to audit the results. The high court reaffirmed his victory.
González, Machado, other opposition leaders and foreign governments questioned the audit results. However, in the letter made public on Wednesday, González admitted that, while he does not agree with the decision of the court, “I respect it because it is a resolution of the highest court of the Republic” .
In contrast, in his video message, he called himself the “elected president of millions and millions of Venezuelans” and promised to “fulfill” his mandate.
Venezuela’s next presidential term begins on January 10 and lasts for six years.