CARACAS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela will hold presidential elections on May 20, the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, said on Thursday.
The announcement came after the government and opposition parties agreed to push back the date from late April to late May.
"We are reprogramming the presidential elections and calling for regional and local legislative elections," Lucena told reporters at a press conference in Caracas.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will be running for reelection as the candidate of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), and former Lara state governor Henri Falcon has registered to run against him as the candidate of the Progressive Advance (AP) and Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) parties.
Falcon's campaign chief Luis Romero and Maduro's Communications and Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez signed the agreement, in which the two sides pledge to respect the outcome of the elections.
Four other opposition candidates are also in the running, according to Caracas-based news network Telesur.
