At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Venezuela

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias *
• Head of Government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias
• Assembly: Venezuela has a unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) with 167 seats.

* In 2009, a national referendum approved the elimination of term limits on all elected officials, including the presidency.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 6-year term.
• In the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional), 65 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms, 68 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms, 31 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 3 members are reserved for indigenous peoples to serve 5-year terms.***

*** Parties may nominate candidates for both the nominal and ordinal tiers.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Hugo Rafael CHAVEZ Frias
  • Party: United Socialist Party of Venezuela / Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV)
• Henrique CAPRILES Radonski
  • Party: Justice First / Primero Justicia (PJ)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 28,047,938 (July 2011 est)
• Registered Voters: 18,733,198 (October 2012 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 14,967,959 (2012)

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

·         Has Venezuela ratified CEDAW: Yes (2 May 1983)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 28 (following the 2010 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 71 (2014)

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

Disability Data:

·         Is Venezuela a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Venezuela ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (24 September 2013)

·         Population with a disability: 4,207,190 (est.)