Regional elections are to be held in Venezuela in mid-2017 to elect state governors and state legislators.
Delayed elections
Controversy arose surrounding on whether the election would be held or not since the government-leaning National Electoral Council (CNE) had not determined a date only two months ahead of the expected date, with some believing that this is due to the belief that if elections were held, the ruling party, United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), would suffer one of its largest losses in over a decade.
On 18 October 2016, head of the CNE, Tibisay Lucena, stated that regional elections would not be held until mid-2017, stating the delay was due to a so-called "economic war" and low oil prices. Government sources stated that the true reason of the delay was the hope that higher oil prices may raise the popularity of the PSUV.