Venezuela's election authority put a halt to the conservative opposition's attempt to force a recall election against President Nicolas Maduro, less than a week before it was to start.

Lower courts had earlier found evidence of fraud in the initial stage of the petition drive, when the opposition was gathering signatures for the recall.

"In adherence to the constitution, the National Electoral Council abides by the decisions ordered by the tribunals and has sent instructions to postpone the process of signature gathering until new judicial instructions are known," it said in a statement.

The timing is crucial - if Venezuelan voters were to recall the man they legally and Democratically elected in 2016, a new election would be triggered.  But if the vote is pushed back to 2017, Vice President Aristobulo Almeida - also a member of Mr. Maduro's ruling Socialist Party - would serve out the remainder of his term.

The decision comes on the heels of the election authority's decision to delay state elections until 2017. 

The opposition has been trying for years to oust the Socialist government of Venezuela, sometimes by vote and sometimes by attempted coup.  This time around, however, the personal magnetism of the late Hugo Chavez is further back in the rear view.  An economic crisis, which Maduro blames on interference from the US and product hoarding by Venezuela's moneyed elites, is grinding on without any sign of easing.  And polls are showing that some of the voters that previously backed Maduro now want him gone.