Edmundo Gonzalez’s election campaign said Venezuela’s opposition candidate will not appear before the country’s high court Wednesday for a hearing related to an election audit requested by reelected President Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice on Monday ordered Gonzalez, who represented the main opposition parties, Maduro and the other eight candidates in the July 28 presidential election to attend hearings scheduled through Friday.
It is unclear whether Gonzalez could face legal consequences over his decision to not appear for the scheduled hearing, according to The Hill, a top US political news website.
Judge Caryslia Rodriguez, president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice and its electoral court, during a nationally televised hearing on Monday warned that failure to appear would entail the corresponding consequences provided by law but did not give any details.
In a related development, Spokesperson of the US Dept. of State Matthew Miller said the United States still recognizes Go
nzalez “as the President elect of Venezuela.” “We have made clear that we believe, um, he received the most votes in the election,” he said in reply to a question at a press briefing. “And we think if you look at the results that were, um, obtained by the opposition and made public by the opposition, they — they confirm, um, that even if Maduro were to win every vote of those outstanding, um, it wouldn’t be enough to close the gap.
“But at the same time, what we support moving forward is an inclusive Venezuelan led process for the reestablishment of democratic norms in coordination with our international partners. “And that’s what we’ve been discussing with our international partners, as well as with the opposition, uh, in Venezuela to whom the secretary spoke at the end of last week, Miller added.
Source : Kuwait News Agency