At stake in this election:

• 100 seats in the National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Alfredo PALACIO *
• Head of Government: President Alfredo PALACIO **
• Assembly: Ecuador has a unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) with 100 seats.

* The President is elected by majority vote to serve a 4-year term. Presidential elections take place under a two-round majority run-off system. In order to win in the first round, a candidate must garner at least 40% of the vote and have a 10 point advantage over the closest rival.

** The president is both the chief of state and head of government. Alfredo PALACIO became President after former President Lucio GUTIERREZ was removed from office by Congress in April 2005.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by majority vote to serve a 4-year term.
• In the National Congress (Congreso Nacional) 100 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Social Christian Party / Partido Social Cristiano (PSC)
  • Leader: Leon FEBRES CORDERO
  • Seats won in last election: 25
• Party: Ecuadorian Roldosist Party / Partido Roldosista Ecuatoriano (PRE)
  • Leader: Abdalá BUCARAM Ortiz
  • Seats won in last election: 15
• Party: National Action Institutional Renewal Party / Partido Renovador Institucional Acción Nacional (PRIAN)
  • Seats won in last election: 10
• Democratic Left/Izquierda Democratica
  • Seats won in last election: 16
• Party of the Patriotic Society/Partido Sociedad Patriótica
  • Seats won in last election: 7
• Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement - New Country/Movimiento de Unidad Plurinacional Pachakutik - Nuevo Pais
  • Seats won in last election: 10
• Popular Democarcy
  • Seats won in last election: 4
• Socialist Party
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• People's Democratic Movement
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Independents
  • Seats won in last election: 7

Last Election:

• Elections for the National Congress were last held on 20 October 2002. 

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 6,973,890 (2006)

·         Is Ecuador a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Ecuador ratified CEDAW: Yes (9 November 1981)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 25 (following the 2006 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 88 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Ecuador a signatory to CRPD: Yes 30 March 2007

·         Has Ecuador ratified CRPD: 3 April 2008

·         Population with a disability: 2,095,123 (est.)