Venezuela's ruling United Socialist Party has now named its official candidate for the July 2024 elections, and it was not a surprising pick as it was President Nicolas Maduro, which was what many have been expecting. Meanwhile, the candidate for the united opposition, Maria Corina Machado, is still banned from running by the Maduro-aligned Supreme Court.

While Machado's ban has been widely criticized by Maduro's political opponents and much of the international community, the Venezuelan autocrat is widely expected to win a third consecutive term with no real competition should the ban against his opponent remain.

In accepting his party's nomination, Maduro claimed that he has "the support of the people" in his run for a third term despite the Supreme Court aligned to him banning his top opponent. His party chose who its candidate was last week, with 4 million members voting for Maduro.

"A man alone would not be here. I am here for the people," said the Venezuelan president, who has been in power since March 2023 after his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, died. "Here, the candidate is not Maduro. Here, the candidate is the people."

Despite saying that he was "chosen by the people," Venezuela was plunged into a deep economic crisis under Maduro, according to the Associated Press. This was made even more complicated by US sanctions against Venezuela, as many citizens fled the country and headed north to seek a better life in the US.

READ MORE: Venezuela Starts a New Feud, This Time Against the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights

Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado Remains Defiant Despite Venezuela Elections Ban

Despite her ban, Maria Corina Machado has stated that she will continue fighting "until the end." However, she has yet to reveal how she will circumvent her ban. She does not have much time, though, as she only has until March 25 to find a way to run, as that date is the deadline for submissions for the registration of candidates.

Machado won over 90% of the votes during the Venezuela election primaries. She was supposed to be able to run after Maduro and the opposition, as well as the US government, all agreed that Venezuela would hold "free and fair" elections in 2024 and allow opposition candidates to run in exchange for the US lifting a few sanctions.

Despite her ban, Machado told supporters, "They believe this is just one more election, one more electoral fight where they can run us over, or cheat, that we're going to stay quiet and lower our heads. They haven't understood anything."

Venezuela Opposition Faces Bleak Choice of Sticking With Machado or Finding a New Candidate

Despite Machado being Defiant, however, the Venezuelan opposition finds itself in a deep conundrum as the March 25 deadline. As El Pais noted, they could either keep Machado, their best way of taking Maduro on, but risk getting their candidate rejected by the courts again, or drop her and find a new candidate to take on the autocrat.

Currently, Machado is not allowed to be listed as a candidate, though it does allow candidates to be swapped out. However, should the united opposition find a suitable replacement, that person would have a tall task of defeating the incumbent

READ MORE: Venezuela Loses Appeal on Crimes Against Humanity Investigation

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: WION Gravitas: The profile of Nicolas Maduro, the embattled Venezuelan President - WION