OSLO – María Corina Machado, the recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, will not be present in Oslo for the ceremony on Wednesday, as confirmed by the head of the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

Kristian Berg Harpviken, the institute’s director, informed the public through NRK, Norway’s national broadcaster, that the Venezuelan opposition figure was absent from Oslo on the day of the event. Her daughter is set to accept the prestigious award on Machado’s behalf.

The institute has yet to provide any comments to The Associated Press, despite attempts to contact them via email and phone.

Just a day before the ceremony, a press conference that was supposed to feature Machado was abruptly called off. Her last public appearance was nearly a year ago.

Machado has been in hiding since January 9, following a brief detention when she joined a protest alongside her supporters in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.

The 58-year-old’s win for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in her South American nation was announced on Oct. 10, and she was described as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

Machado won an opposition primary election and intended to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government barred her from running for office. Retired diplomat Edmundo González took her place.

The lead-up to the July 28, 2024 election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. That increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared the incumbent the winner.

González sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest.

U.N. human rights officials and many independent rights groups have expressed concerns about the situation in Venezuela, and called for Maduro to be held accountable for the crackdown on dissent that he intensified.