Former Candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Summoned Over Voting Data Website

Edmundo Gonzalez, a former Venezuelan presidential candidate, will be called to testify regarding an opposition website posting voting data, as announced by the attorney general. This move follows a series of actions by the ruling party perceived as a crackdown on dissent after a disputed election.

Former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez will be asked to testify about an opposition website where voting data is posted, according to attorney general Tarek Saab on Friday.

The summons is part of a string of actions taken by the ruling party that the opposition and human rights groups have labeled as a crackdown on dissent following a disputed presidential election. 'In the coming hours, citizen Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia will be cited by this Public Ministry based on the ongoing investigation, so he can testify about his responsibility for the webpage which is usurping the virtue and jurisdiction that only corresponds to the electoral authorities,' Saab informed journalists at a Caracas press conference.

Venezuela's national electoral authority and its top court have declared President Nicolas Maduro the victor of the July 28 election with just over half the votes, but opposition-posted ballot box-level tallies suggest a resounding victory for Gonzalez.

(With inputs from agencies.)