At Stake in this Election:       

• 36 seats in Bolivia’s Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores)

Government Structure:

• Chief of State: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006)*
• Head of Government: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006)
• Assembly: Bolivia has a bicameral Plurinational Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional) consisting of the Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores) with 36 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) with 130 seats.

*The president is both the chief of state and head of government.

Electoral System:

• The President is elected by majority vote to serve a 5-year term. A candidate must receive at least 50% of the vote, or 40% of the vote and 10% more than the second candidate to be elected. Otherwise, a second round will be on December 15^th with the top two finishers to determine the winner.
• In the Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores) 36 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms*.
• In the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados), 70 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms, 53 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms and 7 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.[1]**

* Each of the nine Bolivian states elects four Senators. Allocation is by the D'Hondt method. (Before December 2009, there were three Senators per state, and no party could win more than two of the three seats in each.)

** PR seats are apportioned to each state in proportion to population, and these are allocated to parties in proportion to their respective shares of the Presidential vote in each state. Seven reserved indigenous seats are apportioned to non-contiguous, rural areas in seven of the nine states. Voters who declare themselves indigenous may vote for an indigenous deputy instead of in the regular, single-member district election.

Main Parties in this Election:

• Party: Movement Toward Socialism/Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)
  • Leader: Juan Evo MORALES Ayma
  • Seats won in last election: 25
• Party: Christian Democratic Party/Partido Demócrata Cristiano (PDC)
  • Leader: Chi Hyun CHUNG
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• Party: Democrat Social Movement/Movimiento Demócrata Social (MDS)
  • Leader: Óscar Ortiz ANTELO
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Party: Solidarity Civic Unity/Unidad Cívica Solidaridad (UCS)
  • Leader: Víctor Hugo CÁRDENAS
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Revolutionary Nationalist Movement/Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario (MNR)
  • Leader: Virginio LEMA
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Bolivia Alliance Says No/Bolivia Dice NO
  • Leader: Oscar ORTIZ
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: The Front For Victory/Frente Para La Victoria (FPV)
  • Leader: Israel RODRIQUEZ
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: National Action Party of Bolivia/Bolivian National Action Party (PAN BOL)
  • Leader: Ruth NINA
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Third System Movement/Movimiento Tercer Sistema (MTS)
  • Leader: Felix PATZI
  • Seats won in last election: N/A

*In the 2015 Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores) election, the National Unity Front/Frente de Unidad Nacional (UN) won 9 seats.

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 11,513,000[2]
• Registered Voters: 5,973,901 (2014 est).

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 5,733,000[3]
• Is Bolivia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (30 May 1980)[4]
• Has Bolivia ratified CEDAW: Yes (8 Jun 1990)[5]
• Gender Quota: Yes[6]
• Female Candidates in this election:
• Number of Female Legislators: 69 in the Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies (53%), and 17 in the Cámara de Senadores / Chamber of Senators (47%)[7]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 118[8]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low[9]

Disability Data:

• Is Bolivia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (13 Aug 2007)[10]
• Has Bolivia ratified CRPD: Yes (16 Nov 2009)[11]
• Population with a disability: 1,620,132 (est. 2019)[12]