Venezuela opposition's Gonzalez says gov't would have blocked candidacy by now if it planned to

Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez said on Friday that if the government of President Nicolas Maduro was planning on blocking his presidential candidacy by banning him from public office, it would have taken the measure already. "They would have done it already," Gonzalez told Reuters when asked if he thought he could face a ban.

Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez said on Friday that if the government of President Nicolas Maduro was planning on blocking his presidential candidacy by banning him from public office, it would have taken the measure already. Gonzalez, 74, a former diplomat to Algeria and Argentina, was named by the Unitary Platform opposition coalition last month as its candidate for the July 28 presidential election, after landslide primary winner Maria Corina Machado had a ban on holding office upheld by the Supreme Court.

Members of the opposition and analysts have warned the ruling party could take action to ban Gonzalez or block opposition parties from appearing on the ballot. "They would have done it already," Gonzalez told Reuters when asked if he thought he could face a ban. "Once they accepted me, once they accepted another party endorsing my candidacy, I don't think there will be any issue," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez will appear on the ballot for three opposition parties, while Maduro is set to represent 13.