Spain can ignore the recognition of the lower house of the opposition of Venezuela By Reuters
Written by Eduardo Baptista and Inti Landauro
BEIJING/MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government will not consider an expected parliamentary vote to honor Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of a disputed presidential election, the prime minister said.
With Gonzalez in refuge in Spain since Sunday, most of the lawmakers, especially the opposition in the lower house, were expected to pass a symbolic motion on Wednesday saying that he won the July 28 vote given to incumbent President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela’s opposition party published vote tallies and said 75-year-old Gonzalez had won. But the national election board declared Maduro the winner and dismissed international criticism as a conspiracy.
The US, Argentina and Peru recognized Gonzalez as president-elect.
On a visit to China, Sanchez said that Madrid’s position – to demand the release of detailed vote counts before the EU mediator while not yet knowing whether Maduro or Gonzalez won – was clear and unchanged.
“We asked for the publication of the actions, we did not notice the victory of Nicolas Maduro, and we are doing something very important, we are working for unity in the European Union, so that the unity of the European Union will allow us to have limited mediation from here until the end of the year,” he told reporters in the city of Kunshan.
On Tuesday evening, Venezuelan exiles gathered outside Spain’s parliament as lawmakers began debating a proposal from the opposition People’s Party.
Gonzalez has not been seen in public since arriving in Spain.
“I believe that asylum is still a symbol of humanity, the commitment of humanity to the Spanish society, and the extension of its government, and the people who unfortunately suffer from persecution and oppression,” said Sanchez.
Venezuelan opposition leader Antonio Ledezma, who lives in Spain, told Reuters that Gonzalez’s flight would strengthen their cause. “Edmundo will be free, he will not be confined within four walls, like in Venezuela, and he will be able to lead the struggle for the freedom of Venezuela by leading outsiders.”
