Two days earlier, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that last year's legislative polls were unconstitutional because party members were allowed to contest seats in the lower house reserved for independents.
But the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party described the bill as "unconstitutional" and urged President Jacob Zuma to refer it back to parliament for further amendments.
While political opponents said that postponing the inauguration was unconstitutional, Venezuela's Supreme Court sided with Chavez's party, which argued that he did not need to be present at the swearing-in for his next term.