The Venezuelan opposition leader in exile and former MEP, Leopoldo López Gil, speaks to ‘Euronews’ after knowing the provisional results of the elections in Venezuela. He claims that Spain cannot recognize Maduro’s victory.
7,000 kilometers away from Venezuelathe opposition leader and former MEP Leopoldo Lopez Gil He carefully follows every news that comes from his country after the historic elections this Sunday.
From Madrid, the city where he settled after having to leave Venezuela persecuted by Chavismospeaks to ‘Euronews’ with concern about what may happen in the next few hours.
“Very distressed”
“We are very anxious about the future“, he acknowledges after knowing that The National Electoral Council has given victory to Nicolás Maduro with 51.1% of the votes; a figure questioned internationally which is far from what the Edison Research exit poll predicted.
Edison Research es uone of the most prestigious pollsters in the world. In his survey for the ‘Wall Street Journal’ he predicted a triumph for Edmundo González with 65% of the votes.
To this we must add that María Corina Machado’s party It has 40% of the electoral records. These certify the victory of their candidate, Edmundo González, in contradiction with the result offered by the National Electoral Council.
Given all this evidence, Leopoldo López Gil assures that he will “demand that the results be verified through a recount of the minutesa physical count that would confirm that Edmundo González is the winner“, dice.
Concern for candidate safety
In this interview with ‘Euronews’, the first he gives after knowing the result, he also expresses his concern “for the personal safety of both Edmundo González like María Corina Machado”.
He believes that “the integrity of Edmundo González is in danger and so is that of the rest of the opposition leaders.” That’s why, calls on the international community to closely monitor what is going to happen in the next few hours.
“It is a regime that has put thousands of people in prison over the last 25 years, He has tortured them, he has taken them into exilecon millions of people in a forced exodus“, he laments with concern.
“There is a risk for people who They continue to lead the opposition, I am very afraid for them and I hope nothing happens to them. “The whole world has to keep an eye on this,” he adds.
Your son, Leopoldo Lopez Mendonzaalso a Venezuelan opponentwas sentenced to 13 years in prison for Chavismo due to his political activism. Currently he is exiled outside the country like the rest of his family.
But arrests like that are not a thing of the past. “This week more than 304 people were detained for purely political reasons. Last night they continued detaining people and also deporting them. Yesterday they made the mistake of arresting and kidnapping a Spanish journalist,” he explains to ‘Euronews’.
An appeal to the Government of Spain
López Gil also calls on the Government of Spain, requestingor that the Embassy in Caracas gets involved to free the aforementioned journalist. But he doesn’t think he will.
“The Embassy was not involved in the veto of the Spanish deputies who attended Venezuela supervise the electoral processl”, he says in reference to the expulsion of the delegation of deputies from the People’s Party who went to Caracas to review the electoral process without being allowed to enter the country.
“Spain should not recognize the electoral result. You should not recognize Maduro’s victory and must demand that the result be verified. There is no possible recognition until there is verification,” says López.
ADVERTISINGThe minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Spain, José Manuel Albares, has requested “the presentation of the minutes of all polling stations to guarantee fully verifiable results” and respect “the democratic will”.
Leopoldo López Gil has been deputy in the European Parliament and, as a great expert on community politics, he has a message for Brussels. “The European Union must demand compliance with the law.”
“Joseph Borrell has a role very delicate to demand that the democratic game be respected in Venezuela as well as the human rights of Venezuelans and the foreigners who live in Venezuela,” he says.
He also asks the still head of European Diplomacy that “review the sanctions and economic relations with Venezuela, a country that does not fulfill its responsibilities international, so it should be isolated.
ADVERTISING
