Venezuelan Supreme Court postpones inauguration of Chavez

CARACAS - Venezuelan Supreme Court decided on Wednesday in favor of ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is not going to take the oath on Thursday to assume a new term as the head of State after being reelected on October 7th.

Luisa Estrella Morales, president of the Supreme Court of Justice, postponed on Wednesday the inauguration of President Hugo Chavez, who remains in Cuba battling cancer.

She said at a press conference that there is no temporary absence or complete absence with regard to the President.

Morales said the National Assembly has allowed Chavez to stay in Cuba, where he had a new cancer surgery on December 11. She added that the inauguration can legally take place at a later date.

Under the Constitution, Chavez, 58, would assume his new term this Thursday, but his medical condition keeps him in La Habana.