August 9, 2017 Lara, Venezuela (www.venezuelanalysis.com) - This week the National Electoral Council (CNE) opened its registration for candidates for this year's December regional elections. The CNE presented a list of 22 eligible parties reduced from a list of 59 registered parties on Tuesday.

The decrease in eligible parties resulted after a renovation process where all parties who did not acquire 1% of the electoral population in the last two electoral processes or have failed to collect signatures of at least 15% of the electors, were disqualified. The following nonprofit political organizations have qualified to register candidates:

Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV)

Independientes Por el Progreso (IPP)

Unidad Política Popular 89 (UPP 89)

Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD)

Partido Unión y Entendimiento (Puente)

Nueva Visión para mi País (Nuvipa)

Partido Comunista de Venezuela (PCV)

Tendencias Unificadas para Alcanzar el Movimiento de Acción Revolucionaria Organizada (Tupamaros)

Acción Democrática (AD)

Un Nuevo Tiempo Contigo (UNTC)

Movimiento Primero Justicia (MPJ)

Avanzada Progresista (AP)

Voluntad Popular (VP)

Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS)

Por la Democracia Social (Podemos)

Organización Renovadora Auténtica (ORA)

Patria Para Todos (PPT)

Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo (MEP)

Nuevo Camino Revolucionario (NCR)

Copei

Movimiento Político Alianza Para el Cambio (MPAPC)

Unidad Popular Venezolana (UPV)

Although the opposition party MUD is included in the list of the 22 qualified parties and political organizations, based on decisions by regional courts in the last year, the Electoral Council will not allow the Unified Democratic Roundtable (MUD) to register candidates in the states of Zulia, Apure, Monagas, Bolívar, Trujillo, Aragua and Carabobo. "We are attending a decision of the courts. We respect the authority of all of the institutions", stated CNE's Principal Rector Socorro Hernández about the decision.

However, this decision does not prevent candidates from parties belonging to the MUD, to register candidates under their own ballot.

The CNE also announced Tueday its plans to press charges against the London-based company "Smartmatic" once they've completed the corresponding audits to prove to Venezuela and the world that "there is no doubt about the processes led by [Venezuela's] Electoral Power".