Venezuela’s Supreme Court has ruled that the postponement of President Hugo Chavez’s inauguration for a new term in office is legal.

Earlier, the National Assembly voted to give Mr Chavez as much time as he needed to recover from cancer surgery.

The opposition argues that Mr Chavez’s current mandate expires on 10 January, the day he is due to be sworn in.

Mr Chavez is in hospital in Cuba and has suffered complications caused by a lung infection.

Supreme Court President Luisa Estella Morales said it would be “absurd” to consider Mr Chavez’s treatment in Cuba as an unauthorised absence.

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