Venezuela delays local elections

The opposition is still not reconciled to Chavez's victory in August

Venezuela has postponed regional and municipal elections by a month.

Officials are blaming technical difficulties in organising the vote which will now be held on 31 October.

Opposition leaders, who argue that last month's referendum on President Chavez's rule was rigged, are divided over whether to boycott these polls.

An audit of voting machines by international observers found no evidence of fraud in the referendum which Mr Chavez won convincingly.

There was a large turnout for the 15 August vote, in which Venezuelans were asked whether Mr Chavez should serve out the remaining two-and-a-half years of his term.

Correspondents say pro-Chavez candidates, spurred on by their victory, hope to win the majority of the 24 governorships and some 300 local posts being contested.

Some opposition figures argue that the regional elections should not be held until the charges of electoral fraud in the referendum are answered.

Others are calling for the electoral council to be reformed, believing it to be pro-Chavez and susceptible to vote-rigging.