A major opposition party in Venezuela managed to register its presidential candidate for the elections scheduled this year at the last moment, which is likely to lead to a split in the group of political opponents of President Nicolas Maduro and bring him closer to re-election.

BBC reported that the party known as "A New Era" included Manuel Rosales, the governor of Zulia state, in the presidential race, according to Stalin Gonzalez, the former deputy and main opposition negotiator, in a post on social media.

Opposition leader Corina Yureis said on Monday that the government is seeking to prevent the main opposition parties, including "A New Era," from nominating candidates in the presidential elections, stating that the government faced repeated technical difficulties in the automated registration system.

After the five-day registration period closed on Monday, the opposition coalition known as the "Unitary Platform" said it was unable to access the system or register its candidate. It was not known whether the coalition supports the candidate of the "A New Era" party.