The CNE said the poll would now be held on 20 May.

The move came after an agreement was reached between the government and a small number of opposition parties.

President Nicolás Maduro has registered to run for a second six-year term.

Why is the timing of the vote so important?

CNE chief Tibisay Lucena also announced the government had agreed on "electoral guarantees" for the forthcoming elections with a number of opposition parties.

UN chief Antonio Guterres would also be invited to send an observer mission to monitor "all phases of the process".

Traditionally, presidential elections are held in Venezuela in December but in February the CNE announced they would be brought forward to 22 April.

The decision was widely interpreted by critics of the government as an attempt to steamroll the deeply divided opposition coalition and throw it into disarray.

It comes amid an ever-worsening economic and political crisis which has left many Venezuelans malnourished and led hundreds of thousands to flee the country.