The opposition candidate who claimed victory in Venezuela's presidential election and was issued an arrest warrant has arrived in Spain to seek asylum.

Spain's foreign ministry said a Spanish air force plane carrying Edmundo Gonzalez, the opposition candidate in Venezuela's presidential election in July, arrived at an airbase near Madrid on Sunday.

Following the presidential election, the election committee announced that the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro had won the vote. But the opposition camp insisted that its own vote counting results showed Gonzalez was the winner, and that there was election fraud.

In response, the Maduro administration issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez on charges including incitement.

He left for Spain after taking refuge at the Spanish Embassy in the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

He said in a voice message to supporters that his departure "was surrounded by episodes of pressure, coercion and threats that I wouldn't be allowed to leave."

He added, "I trust that we'll soon continue the fight for liberty and the return to democracy in Venezuela."

Despite doubts about the election results from both inside and outside of the country, Gonzalez's departure is expected to allow Maduro to further solidify his claim to victory.