A former Venezuelan diplomat named Edmundo González Urrutia has been selected as the substitute opposition candidate who will square off against President Maduro in the next election.

In the whirlwind world of Venezuelan politics, the former ambassador is now crucial to efforts to oust President Nicolás Maduro as the main opposition faction’s presidential candidate.

“I have never held an elected position. I have never participated in partisan politics of positions of elected office,” he said. “I accepted it with enormous responsibility and as a contribution on my part to the democratization of the country, to the process of trying to seek the understanding, reconciliation, of Venezuelans.”

As I described here, the opposition held a vote last year to decide who would represent them in the election. The winner by a landslide was Maria Machado however the corrupt communist government run by Maduro has insisted that Machado is not eligible to run for office.

Machado hoped that a clear win in the primary would embarrass the socialist government into allowing her on the ballot, but in January the country's Supreme Court, which is made up of Maduro loyalists, ruled she would not be allowed to run.

Apparently ruling her out of the process wasn't enough for Maduro. Last week, his government announced that it was arresting her campaign manager and other members of her staff.

Next the opposition tried to register an 80-year-old substitute candidate named Corina Yoris, but the government blocked that too. So now the opposition has settled on Urrutia. He will be one of ten candidates running against Maduro, but the only one who isn't a Maduro loyalist. The Telegraph reported on the ballot that will be presented to voters.

A photo of Nicolas Maduro appears 13 times on the ballot for the upcoming Venezuelan presidential election, amid concerns of election fraud.

The strongman leader’s face festoons the document for the July 28 vote in line with election rules that require a picture of the presidential candidate for each individual party, even when the party is part of an electoral coalition.

By contrast, pictures of Edmundo González, the unified opposition alliance candidate, appear just three times, all below Mr Maduro...

There are another 34 options on the ballot, but all are regarded as allied with the Maduro regime, meaning that of 50 options, 47 favour the government and just three represent a vote for the opposition.

And of course Edmundo González Urrutia is not even the face of the opposition. He's a substitute for the real face of the opposition who has been kept off the ballot entirely.

Machado has been campaigning for more than a year, including after Venezuela’s ruling party-loyal top court affirmed an administrative decision blocking her candidacy. She recently began instructing supporters gathered by the thousands at rallies to vote for González Urrutia, but he is yet to appear before crowds. He said he plans to kick off his campaign later this month and explained that Machado and other opposition leaders will continue to host events around the country...

Asked what role Machado would have in his government should he win, González Urrutia said it was “premature to think what position she is going to take.” What matters at the moment, he said, is that Machado and the Unitary Platform are “rowing in the same direction.”

He's being a bit coy about his plans here but in an interview with AFP he was a bit more forthcoming.

At his home in Caracas, González told AFP: "It is time for a peaceful democratic transition for Venezuelans," after 25 years of Chavismo, the brand of populist leftist ideology championed by the late president Hugo Chávez and inherited by Maduro.

"This is my contribution to the democratic cause.... This is my contribution to unity, to the struggle for a democratic transition," he said, insisting: "I have no personal aspirations."

The election will take place on July 28. No doubt the Maduro dictatorship isn't done interfering in the outcome. There is no chance this will be a free and fair election but at this point Maduro is so unpopular that he may not be able to overturn the outcome. We'll know for sure in a few more weeks.

Here's a joint interview with Machado and Urrutia. Starting around 4 1/2 minutes she describes the harassment her campaign has received from the government thus far.