Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who has been disqualified from running in this year's presidential election, insists that the poll cannot take place without her. Venezuela's Supreme Court, which is loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, upheld a 15-year ban on Machado from holding public office, and also confirmed the ineligibility of a possible opposition stand-in -- two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles. The 56-year-old Machado described the ruling as "judicial delinquency" and shows no sign she will bow out of the race. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES