At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Bolivia

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez *
• Head of Government: President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez
• Assembly: Bolivia has a bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consisting of the Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores) with 27 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) with 130 seats.

* Should candidates fail to win a majority, the newly elected Congress decides between the top two vote recipients

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores) 27 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados), 62 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms and 68 members are elected by simple majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Gonzalo Sanchez de LOZADA
  • Party: Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR)
• Evo MORALES
  • Party: Movement Towards Socialism (MAS)
• Manfred Reyes VILLA
  • Party: New Republican Force (NFR)
• Jaime Paz ZAMORA
  • Party: Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR)
• Felipe QUISPE
  • Party: Pachacutie Indigenous Movement (MIP)
• Ronald MacLEAN
  • Party: Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN)
• Alberto COSTA Obregon
  • Party: Liberty and Justice Party

Note: Because no candidate received a majority of votes, the National Assmbly voted to elect Gonzalo Sanchez de LOZADA (84 votes). Second place candidate Evo MORALES received 43 votes in the National Assembly.

Last Presidential election:

• Legislative elections were last held June 1, 1997.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 8,653,343 ( 2002)
• Registered Voters: 4,164,909 (2002)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 4,314,660 (2002)

·         Is Bolivia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (30 May 1980)

·         Has Bolivia ratified CEDAW: Yes (8 June 1990)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 24 (National Congress); 4 (Chamber of Senators) (following 2002 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 119 (2014)

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

Disability Data:

·         Is Bolivia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (13 August 2007)

·         Has Bolivia ratified CRPD: Yes (16 November 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,241,169 (est.)