Henry Ramos Allup, newly elected speaker of Venezuela's National Assembly, has declared that there will be a change of government within six months.
Mr Ramos Allup of the opposition MUD coalition was speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of the new lawmakers.
Following a landslide win, the Assembly is under the control of the opposition for the first time in almost 17 years.
He did not say how the change would be brought about but stressed it would be "constitutional".
Under Venezuela's constitution, the president can be removed from office by means of a recall referendum.
Many members of the of the MUD opposition coalition have in the past few months called for such a referendum.
In a letter sent in November from the cell where he is being held after being found guilty of incitement of violence, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez wrote: "We can't wait for the presidential elections in 2019, political change in Venezuela has a date and it's the first semester of 2016."
A recall referendum can only be called once the president has served half of his term. The signatures of at least 20% of registered voters are needed to trigger it. President Nicolas Maduro started his six-year term on 19 April 2013.
The opposition could start gathering signatures any time after 19 April 2016. If the recall referendum proves successful, new presidential elections will have to be held within 30 days. A new president would then serve out the remainder of Mr Maduro's term in office until April 2019.
Mr Ramos Allup did not say whether he was referring to a recall referendum in his speech, but made it clear that "here and now, things will change".
In response, Mr Maduro, in an interview on state television, declared defiantly: "Let them [the opposition] call a recall referendum and then the people will decide... But if they come [at me] by any other means, the people, constitution in hand, will decide, and I'll be there defending democracy in my role as president of the Republic."
SOURCE: BBC
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