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STORY: Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez fled to Spain on Sunday as he seeks asylum from Nicolas Maduro's government amid the ongoing crisis over July's disputed election.

Gonzalez - who has challenged Maduro's declaration of victory - arrived at the Torrejon de Ardoz military base with his wife, Spain's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The exit of the 75-year-old - seen by the U.S., EU and other major powers as the winner of the election - came a week after Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a statement said it was "a sad day for democracy in Venezuela," adding that "no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country."

Venezuela's opposition say the July 28 election resulted in a resounding victory for Gonzalez, and published vote tallies online that they say show he won.

Maduro has dismissed all such assertions and says there was a right-wing plot to sabotage his government.

Gonzalez's move to Spain marked another jolting shift in the fortunes of the former diplomat who came out of retirement and took over the candidacy in March, initially as a placeholder after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and then another replacement could not stand.

Machado confirmed on X that Gonzalez was now in Spain, adding he had fled to protect his "freedom, his integrity and his life."

She said he would continue to fight for the opposition from Spain, and vowed that on 10 January 2025, Gonzalez would be sworn in as the Venezuela's president.