CARACAS – Venezuela’s vice president said Hugo Chavez’s new term as head of state will begin on Jan. 10 and that if the ailing leader is not able to take the oath of office before the National Assembly on that date he can be sworn in at a later time by the Supreme Court.

Nicolas Maduro made the remarks after opposition leaders said the head of the National Assembly – controlled by Chavez allies – must take over as interim president and new elections must be called if the socialist leader cannot return to Venezuela to be sworn in on Thursday.

Maduro said Friday that the constitution allows for the “formality” of the swearing-in ceremony to be “resolved before the Supreme Court at the time (the high court) deems in coordination with the president.”

The 58-year-old Chavez, who remains hospitalized in Cuba more than three weeks after his latest cancer surgery, is experiencing respiratory deficiency caused by a “severe” lung infection, government officials said this week.