BOGOTA

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s party officially selected him on Monday as a candidate for the July presidential elections.

Diosdado Cabello, vice-president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), signed the registration documents.

Maduro, 61, will seek a third term in the July 28 elections.

Cabello previously said that more than 4.2 million party members chose Maduro in the primary election they held within the party.

"I accept the mandate given to me by the people to tackle new challenges," Maduro told the supporters.

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.

Maduro has been in power since 2013 and was re-elected in 2018 in polls widely criticized by the international community as being neither free nor fair.