Venezuela opposition candidate ignores summons

Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was hit with a fresh summons after failing to appear before prosecutors Monday as part of a probe into his claim that he was the rightful victor of last month's presidential election.

Gonzalez Urrutia, 74, has been in hiding since after the election amid threats of arrest from President Nicolas Maduro, whose contested victory has plunged the oil-rich Latin American nation into crisis.

Late Sunday, Gonzalez Urrutia said in a video published on social media that he had been summoned "without guarantees" of due process, accusing Attorney General Tarek William Saab of bias.

Gonzalez Urrutia "is summoned (to appear) a second time," on Tuesday, Saab told AFP after the candidate failed to show up Monday in an investigation into the opposition's publishing of electoral records which it claims show Maduro was clearly defeated.

According to the summons, Gonzalez Urrutia is being investigated for alleged crimes such as "usurpation of functions" and "forgery of public documents."

The little-known retired diplomat became the last-minute presidential candidate after main opposition figure Maria Corina Machado was banned from running in the July 28 election and threw her weight behind him.

- Maduro's contested win -

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner of the election, with 52 percent of votes cast, but it has refused to publish detailed results, claiming hackers had corrupted the data.

An observer mission from the US-based Carter Center said there was no evidence of any cyber attack affecting the vote.

The opposition cried foul, publishing polling-station-level results that appear to show that Gonzalez Urrutia defeated Maduro with 67 percent of the vote.

The announcement of Maduro's reelection sparked protests that left 27 dead and nearly 200 injured, while some 2,400 people were arrested, according to authorities.

The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries have refused to recognize Maduro as having won without seeing detailed voting results.

Saab said Friday that the opposition's website, where it has posted a detailed breakdown of election results, had "usurped" the powers of the Maduro-aligned CNE.

Saab, a Maduro ally, said Gonzalez Urrutia would have to explain his "disobedience."

The only opposition member of Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) on Monday pointed to "irregularities" in the vote count, such as opposition observers being expelled from polling stations after voting ended, and an interruption in the transmission of results from polling stations.

"Everything that happened before, during and after the presidential election shows the seriousness of the lack of transparency and veracity of the results announced," Juan Carlos Delpino -- who is also in hiding -- said in a statement.

- Call for protest -

Opposition leader Machado has remained defiant, calling in a post on X for Venezuelans to march en masse Wednesday.

"One month after our glorious victory, in which Edmundo Gonzalez was elected President, Venezuelans (must) again take to the streets," she said.

Venezuela's top court, widely regarded as loyal to Maduro, on Thursday certified his reelection to a third, six-year term, and reprimanded Gonzalez Urrutia for not appearing before it in an earlier hearing.

He had said that attending the hearing could have cost his freedom.

Lawyer Joel Garcia, who has defended opposition figures in Venezuela, said if Gonzalez Urrutia was charged with everything the government has accused him of, he could face a jail sentence of 30 years. 

Garcia said the summons presented "inconsistencies," however.

"It should be said in what capacity he is summoned, whether as a witness, as an accused or as an expert," he said.

"If we assume that he is indicted (as a defendant), he should appear accompanied by his defense. Otherwise, anything he could declare would be null and void."

By Esteban Rojas