CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela has set next year’s  parliamentary elections for Sept. 26 in a vote where President  Hugo Chavez is expected to hold off opposition parties’ push to  break his grip on the South American nation’s legislature.

The vote had been expected for December 2010, but the  National Election Commission set the earlier date late on  Wednesday in a move that may complicate the opposition’s  efforts to organize themselves in time.

They boycotted the last assembly vote in December 2005,  handing the Chavez government total control of the assembly and  enabling him to push forward his socialist policies in the  oil-producing nation of 28 million people.

The election commission, a state body appointed by the  assembly which critics say makes it biased towards Chavez, gave  no reasons for the September date.