UPDATE 1-Venezuela opposition leader Machado says Yoris remains coalition candidate in election

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By Vivian Sequera and Mayela Armas

CARACAS, March 26 (Reuters) – Corina Yoris remains the major opposition coalition’s presidential candidate in Venezuela’s July elections, opposition leader and erstwhile hopeful Maria Corina Machado said on Tuesday, even though Yoris was not able to register for the contest.

The coalition was left without a candidate in the race after the opposition was unable to access the electoral authority’s online system to register 80-year-old Yoris before the expiry of Monday’s deadline.

Yoris was named as the opposition candidate last week by Machado, who won the opposition nominating contest by a landslide last year to run against incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, but has been banned from holding public office.

Asked if she would support Manuel Rosales, the current governor of Zulia province, who registered just before the expiry of a Monday deadline, Machado said she is taking decisions “day by day”.

Rosales, who some in the opposition say has become too close to the ruling party during his governorship, belongs to the A New Time party, which until Monday had backed Machado. He is expected to hold a press conference later on Tuesday.

A total of thirteen people, including Maduro, have registered for the contest.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera and Mayela Armas Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb)

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