Venezuela on Tuesday postponed gubernatorial elections due in December until mid-2017 after deeply unpopular President Nicolas Maduro said the country needs to focus on reviving its economy instead of elections. The head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, said governors would now be elected "at the end of the first half of 2017," in a statement on state TV that gave no reason for the change.
The plunge in global oil prices has sent Opec member Venezuela's economy into free-fall, putting Maduro on the defensive. The announcement comes as the leftist leader's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) takes an increasingly wary approach to popular elections. The Venezuelan left dominated at the polls for 17 years, starting with the election of Maduro's late mentor, Hugo Chavez, in 1998.