Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s party on Monday officially chose him as its candidate for the presidential election in July.
Diosdado Cabello, vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), signed the registration papers. Maduro, 61, will seek a third term in the 28 July election. He has been in power since 2013 and was re-elected in 2018.
Cabello said earlier that more than 4.2 million party members chose Maduro in primary elections held within the party. Maduro told the supporters:
I accept the mandate given to me by the people to tackle new challenges.
Stressing that he will defend independence, freedom and the homeland “until the end,” he said:
I love this country endlessly and have always defended it since I was little, and I will defend it with my life if necessary.
Meanwhile, 80-year-old Corina Yoris was named as the opposition candidate on Friday.
To date, 10 candidates have registered to compete in the July elections, none of them connected to the main opposition coalition. Once parties register their candidate, they have until April 16 to name a substitute.
The government said it had invited eight international monitoring groups, including the Carter Centre, the EU and the UN, but none had yet confirmed their participation in the vote.
