Venezuela prosecutor issues second summons for opposition leader following controversial presidential election News
Voz de América, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Venezuela prosecutor issues second summons for opposition leader following controversial presidential election

Venezuela prosecutors issued a second summons to opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez on Monday for questioning regarding an opposition website that posted detailed results surrounding the disputed presidential election last month.

The website is reported to have provided detailed voting results of the election to the public, displaying an indisputable victory in Gonzalez’s favour. The voting results displayed on the website aligned with predicted election results, as previous polls hinted at a possible landslide victory for Gonzalez. However, the National Electoral Council released results displaying incumbent President Nicolas Maduro as receiving 52 per cent of the votes, despite refusing to publish evidence to support the validity of the claims. The results have been widely disputed by governments and human rights agencies, who raised alarms about the precariousness of the right to vote in Venezuela before the election.

Rallies are still ongoing in the state as civilians flock to either support or oppose Maduro’s government, now embarking on a third six-year term. Numerous States continue to affirm their recognition of Gonzalez as the winner of the July election and call on Maduro’s government to release voting sheets to allow independent verification of the election outcome.

Gonzalez has remained in hiding since the election, due to Maduro’s repeated threats to have him arrested. The politician recently responded to the controversies, including rejecting the impartiality of the election outcome, in a video that was uploaded to his X account last week. Prosecutors previously issued an initial summons directing the politician to appear for questioning regarding the website, claiming the provision of such information through the website may amount to cybercrime, forgery of public documents and conspiracy. Gonzalez refused to attend the initial summons and is yet to respond to the latest call.

 

 

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