CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela’s opposition said on Saturday it has been unable to register a candidate to replace banned leader Maria Corina Machado in the July 28 presidential election.
Venezuela’s Supreme Court barred Machado, 56, from holding public office for 15 years in January, and her party has a Monday deadline to nominate a candidate.
“More than 54 hours have gone by without us bring able to register Dr Corina Yoris,” her said on X, adding their attempts to access the website of National Electoral Council have been blocked.
But still they were sure of their win in the elections with the strength of the majority of votes.
Machado has hailed Yoris, an 80-year-old former university teacher who has not held office before, as “a person who has my full trust.”
Yoris was part of the commission that organized the opposition primary in October, which Ms Machado won handily and her popularity soared, upsetting the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Authorities this week arrested two senior campaign aides to Ms Machado and issued warrants for seven others on charges of trying to destabilize the country.
President Maduro has ruled Venezuela with military support since 2013, even as a severe economic downturn has forced more than 7 million people to flee the country.
Experts say Machado, who has a 70 percent approval rating in some polls, may be able to transfer that support to his successor.
Maduro, a former bus driver, aspires to a third six-year term. He came to power in 2013, after the death of Hugo Chavez, and was reelected in 2018 in controversial elections, under suspicions of fraud.
