The 2025 elections left 59 mayors proclaimed women, consolidating the fall in female representation that was seen in 2021. The National Electoral Council did not publish norms on gender parity for these elections, and the -reparently – applied did not include executive positions
The 2025 municipal elections left less women designated for positions of local structures, mayors and municipal councils. The proclamations communicated by the National Electoral Council, through listings that They did not include number of votes obtained nor their respective percentages show 59 women awarded as elected mayors and 515 as main councilors throughout the country.
The numbers, however, fall short with respect to the number of men who have begun to be sworn in the charges. A total of 276 men were proclaimed mayors, as well as 1,883 were as main councilors elected by lists and nominally.
In 2025 women’s applications reached 45% of the total registered names for the different positions. But the results showed that, of the total of municipal offices awarded, only 18% remained in the hands of a woman compared to 82% of mayors who will be handled by men. In the case of municipal councils, only 21% of these seats throughout the country will be occupied by women.
In the 2017 municipal elections, 77% of the elected candidacies for charges of mayors were men (259) and 23% women (76). In 2021, elected women mayors represented 19% compared to 81% of elected men.
Venezuela does not have a specific law of gender quota or parity that guarantees spaces for participation for women in politics; Nor have special sections been incorporated into electoral laws. For now, it continues to depend on special regulations issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE) for each election, leaving the matter in the hands of the political will of the authorities. The Electoral Observation Network of Education Assembly He said in 2021 that the implementation and fulfillment of such special norms “by the parties has been incomplete and the application by the electoral authority, Lax”.
For the municipal elections of 2025, no special rules were issued in this regard. Partisan actors consulted confirmed that the instruments of 2021 were assumed as an action framework. At that time the CNE established that the candidacies should be distributed in a 50% formula for each sex or, failing that, 40% minimum and 60% maximum for each sex. These percentages apply for both the vote ready and for the nominal vote in the case of elections for municipal councils. In the case of executive positions there is no related regulations.
The electoral result announced by the CNE confirms a new setback in the participation of women in Venezuelan institutional policy, especially in executive positions. The setback of a point in the general award hides an 8% decrease when the number of mayors obtained by women in 2021, and 22% with respect to the results of the previous process of 2017 is compared.
*Also read: opposition presence in mayors
In the regional and legislative elections on May 25, The greatest number of governors in history were awarded: Five commanders, all of the PSUV. They now command 20% of the country’s states, a large increase with respect to 9% of entities in the hands of women who threw the 2021 electoral process.
In those elections, there were 129 candidates competing for the 24 State governorates, of which 19% were women. A total of 24 flags who sought votes in 17 entities of the country -in several cases with various competitors in the same race -, an increase to almost double with respect to the 11 women who presented themselves looking for votes for seven governments in the previous election, in addition to a competitor for the new Guayana Esequiba state.
The CNE did not publish the complete list of deputies awarded for the 277 positions in the National Assembly that will assume functions in January 2026, which is impossible to know how gender parity will be. For now it is known that in the “national list” Only the PSUV will have women as main deputies. The Parliament that will end its period in 2025 has 32% of women in the Chamber.
*Journalism in Venezuela is exercised in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments arranged for the punishment of the word, especially the laws “against hatred”, “against fascism” and “against blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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