Edmundo González, opposition candidate in disputed 2024 elections, sets requirements for fresh presidential vote in Venezuela.
1:12 AM
Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition candidate in Venezuela's contested 2024 presidential election, outlined Saturday the conditions he believes are necessary for holding new presidential elections in the country.
In a video message posted on social media, the 76-year-old former diplomat said that new elections should take place within "a truly democratic and truly free process." González stated that the interests of the Venezuelan republic take precedence, declaring that "this means presidential elections."
González enumerated several requirements for conducting fresh elections. These include independent electoral authorities, an electoral registry, national and international observation, political pluralism, and access to independent media outlets.
However, González identified what he described as non-negotiable preconditions that must be met before those electoral conditions can be implemented. These include the freedom of political prisoners, an end to political persecution, respect for the Constitution, and independence of the judiciary.
The former diplomat's statement came as he expressed solidarity with opposition leader María Corina Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who has also called for new elections. González noted that Machado and Venezuela's democratic forces gathered in Panama days earlier with the shared objective of securing Venezuela's freedom.
"We stand together, united on the same roadmap towards the same destiny," González said in his video address. He added that his commitment is to ensure that the opposition's mandate becomes "real freedom, real democracy."
González is currently in exile in Spain. He is recognized by some countries as the legitimate winner of the 2024 presidential election, in which Nicolás Maduro was declared the official victor. The election results have been widely disputed by the opposition and questioned internationally.
Machado has been advocating for new elections following the capture of Maduro during a military operation in January. González's statement represents a unified position between two prominent opposition figures on the path forward for Venezuela's political future.
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