Ex-presidential candidate Gonzalez says he will return to Venezuela to take office in January

Ex-presidential candidate Gonzalez says he will return to Venezuela to take office in January

Venezuelan former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez said on Friday that he intended to travel back to his country on Jan. 10 to take office as "elected president".

Gonzalez attended a business event in Spain and, in his first public speech since arriving there after being forced to leave Venezuela, told the audience that he was president-elect and that his stay in Spain was temporary.

"I am going to return to Venezuela as soon as possible, when we restore democracy in our country ... I am going on Jan. 10 to take office as elected president," he told reporters.

The opposition says the election outcome was rigged in favour of the incumbent, Nicolas Maduro, and that in reality he lost heavily to Gonzalez.

Gonzalez fled to Spain on Sept. 9, a week after Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes.

He told Reuters he had sought diplomatic refuge after being told Maduro's security forces were coming for him.