There is no place for non-binary people on electoral lists. At least, not like this. As long as the third gender is not recognized in the registry, they must declare themselves as men or women to be eligible to stand for election. The Central Electoral Commission (JEC) put it in black on white in an instruction published in November in the Official Journal (BOE) following a question posed by Izquierda Unida: “Electoral nominations must include, next to the name and surname of the candidates, the indication that will coincide with the indication expressed in the DNI, of whether it is a man or a woman, without being able to replace it with any other indication relating to sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.” male. He reads. This decision reinforces parity on electoral rolls while causing discomfort among non-binary people, those whose gender identity and/or expression transcends the binary, neither defining themselves as a man or a woman, nor within the boundaries of masculine or feminine.
“It surprises us, it follows the logic that we don’t exist,” says Alana Speck, a non-binary German living in Seville, involved in the Sexualiarte association, and for whom the Spanish justice system recognized the right to register with the Immigration Service with a third option that matches the one reflected in her German passport. “My legal nationality in Spain is not specified,” he asserts. “I can run for municipal and European elections in Spain, as an EU citizen,” she says. “There are more people like me.” “So what do they do? They ignore the reality that already exists in Spain. The problem is that they are both The law of transience Such instructions ignore international law.”
Speck recalls that the UN Human Rights Committee expressed “concern” in July about the lack of recognition of non-binary identities in Spain. It is explicitly stated in this balance sheet that what is known as The law of transience (4/2023 For the Genuine and Effective Equality of Transgender Persons and Guaranteeing the Rights of LGBT People) only distinguishes between men and women, which “exposes non-binary people to situations of discrimination in various areas, including public and recreational spaces, the educational system, health services and employment, among others.” The rule does not provide tools for the legal recognition of non-binary people, nor for examining how they fit into the Spanish legal system. Additionally, an amendment made by several political groups for non-binary people to delete any mention of their gender in official documents was rejected.
It’s not an anecdotal thing. From the “LGTBI+ State 2025” study conducted by the government LGTBI+ Federation, which indicates that 8.5% of the LGTBI+ group identify or feel as “non-binary”, it can be concluded that around 400,000 people declare themselves as “non-binary” in Spain.
In this context, Blue Rodriguez, a 25-year-old campaigner and campaigner, asserts that the JEC’s instructions are “complete and utter nonsense,” especially when applied to the political sphere, where he says: “People’s reality should be reflected as it is.” He explains that his identity passes through any form of public engagement and that actions like these reinforce the message of exclusion: “The moment I want to become an active soldier, I will have to hide a fundamental part of my personal and political identity.”
Rodriguez placed himself outside the binary at the age of seventeen, after an identity crisis and beginning a process of research without references; He knows very well what it means to grow up without a mirror in which to look at yourself. For this reason, she sees it as essential to have visible non-binary figures in politics and remembers trans leaders like Carla Antonelli who “opened the door for many other trans people to feel valid” and to be able to occupy spaces of power. “Being visible is already a political act,” he concludes, “and doing it from a public position is even more important.”
For Darko Di Vimavilla, a 37-year-old activist, the decision represents a “setback” and “an attack on human rights,” especially considering that “there are a lot of countries that already recognize non-binary identities, and that even in the passport, which is an international document, a third box is recognized.” He believes this will mainly affect left-wing parties – “the right doesn’t even think about the existence of non-binary people” – and recalls that there has been debate in various places about how these identities fit into parity systems. She is clear that “a position held by a non-binary person can never harm women’s rights” and advocates that there should be a quota for non-binary people that is always discounted by men.
Personally, Darko knows all too well what not confessing entails. In the previous elections, before his name was changed to Director of National Intelligence, the Joint Electoral Commission forced him to appear on the lists with him Dead namehis previous name, leaving his real name in parentheses.
“This greatly affects the mental health of non-binary people and means that we often do not want to access certain places, especially institutional politics, precisely for fear of being exposed to violence,” explains the instructions of the Joint Electoral Commission, which notes that the Parity Act stipulates that electoral lists must be made up by people of one gender or another, and arranged in an alternative way. In addition, the agency notes that the civil registry requires that the birth registration state whether the newborn is male or female; and that The law of transience This does not refer to the fact that there may be, at least in the registry entries, more genders than females and males.
“It seems appropriate to maintain the criterion contained in Instruction No. 5/2007,” concludes the body that ensures clean elections on the criterion for determining whether a candidate is a man or a woman.
Question from the United Left
The Joint Electoral Commission has not commented on this issue after approving the Equality Law of 2024. “I think this is the first time,” said a member of the organization consulted by El Pais newspaper. It all starts with a question recorded by the newspaper Izquierda Unida in September, according to documents obtained by this newspaper. She asked: “If there are non-binary people in the nomination, how should the statement of rotation and parity be interpreted so that it does not harm these people or violate women’s rights?”
This is how the body charged with ensuring clean elections and compliance with the election law responds. It read: “It seems appropriate to clarify the interpretation of the rule of rotation and parity in the event of non-binary persons in the nomination.” He adds: “The complete absence of any legal reference to a third gender group seems to indicate that the law does not stipulate that there can be more genders than females and males, at least in registration records.” Therefore, in the absence of a specific regulation recognizing a third gender in the register, “the gender designation in the list of candidates must coincide with the corresponding indication contained in the DNI.”
It is not a simple fact. Specifically, Sommer, the minority partner in the government, introduced a bill last April to recognize non-binary gender, as well as the reality of intersex, and be able to be included in the DNI. This initiative is expected to be evaluated for consideration by the plenary session after the executive authority expressed its opinion on it in full, as stated on the website of the House of Representatives.
“Being intersex or a non-binary person in 2025 is still living in a world that has proven that you only have to choose between two boxes, and that means silencing the true identity of many people,” said Veronica Martinez-Barbero, Somar’s congressional spokesperson, when introducing the initiative. This situation has now become uniform in the electoral lists. This is how they view the decision of the Joint Election Commission in this formation: “Promoting equality, which we undoubtedly support, but thousands of people who feel that they are neither men nor women are still excluded. In the 21st century, this must change.”