The application of the “Special Regulation to Guarantee the Rights to Equal Political Participation in National Assembly Elections” resulted in the considering of 283 nominations—submitted by 25 political parties—as “not submitted.”

Among the organizations most affected by the lack of compliance with the Gender Regulation is the Venezuelan Environmental Movement (Movimiento Ecológico de Venezuela, MOVEV) which saw the rejection of 21 of its nominations.

According to Article 3 of the special regulation, the nominations for parliamentary elections “must have an equal and alternating composition of 50% for each sex. In cases in which parity is not possible, there must be at least 40% and at most 60% for each sex. These formulas apply for main and alternate candidates in nominations under both nominal and list forms.”

In addition, Article 5 of the parity regulation warned that “citizen nominations that affect the obligations of organizations with political aims and electoral groups regarding the equal and alternating representation established in this resolution will be considered as not submitted.”

The application of this regulation led the National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral, CNE) to consider the submissions of 25 political organizations as not submitted. Besides the MOVEV, the electoral body also did not process the nominations of organizations such as the PRT, which had 12 of its candidates rejected. In the case of Juan Bimba, the governing body rejected 19 nominations for not complying with gender parity; Labor Power (Poder Laboral) lost 18 of its nominations; and National Opinion (Opina) had 15 of its submissions annulled.

None of the 283 nominations rejected by the leaders of the CNE belonged to the parties that comprise the Great Patriotic Pole (Gran Polo Patriótico, GPP) or the Democratic Unity Roundtable (Mesa de Unidad Democrática, MUD).

In addition to Labor Power, which was not able to include Nicmers Evans, founder of the Socialist Tide (Marea Socialista) organization, in the electoral ballot of the Capital District (the CNE rejected his registration as a political party), the Socialism and Liberty party (Socialismo y Libertad, PSL), another affected “dissenting” organization, could not register the commander of the February 1992 coup attempt, Yoel Acosta Chirinos, in the state of Portuguesa.

In fact, the secretary general of PSL Miguel Angel Hernández assured the media that the only reason that the registration of its candidates was rejected is that the party “stands up to the PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela).”

In contrast to the Chavismo opposition, parties that previously allied with the MUD and will present candidates outside the democratic alternative on December 6, such as the Red Flag Party (Bandera Roja), Movement for Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS), and the National Integrity Movement (Movimiento de Integridad Nacional Unidad, MIN-Unidad), did not suffer the cancellation of their nominations.