At stake in this election:

• 56 seats in the Federal Senate (Senado Federal)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO*
• Head of Government: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO
• Assembly: Brazil has a bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consisting of the Federal Senate (Senado Federal) with 81 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados) with 513 seats.

* The president is both the chief of state and head of government. The President is elected by majority vote to serve a 4-year term for a maximum of two mandates. Presidential elections take place under a two-round majority run-off system.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by majority vote to serve a 4-year term.
• In the Federal Senate (Senado Federal) 81 members are elected by plurality vote to serve 8-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados) 513 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.

* One-third of the senators (27 seats) are elected after a four-year period, and two-thirds (54 seats) are elected after the next four-year period.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Workers' Party / Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT)
  • Leader: Luis Inácio LULA da Silva
  • Seats won in this election: 10
• Party: Party of the Liberal Front / Partido da Frente Liberal (PFL)
  • Seats won in this election: 14
• Party: Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement / Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (PMDB)
  • Seats won in this election: 10
• Party: Brazilian Social Democracy Party / Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira (PSDB)
  • Leader: José SERRA
  • Seats won in this election: 8
• Party: Brazilian Progressive Party / Partido Progresista Brasilero (PPB)
  • Seats won in this election: 0
• Party: Liberal Party / Partido Liberal (PL)
  • Seats won in this election: 3
• Party: Brazilian Labor Party / Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro (PTB)
  • Leader: Roberto Jefferson
  • Seats won in this election: 2
• Party: Brazilian Socialist Party / Partido Socialista Brasileiro (PSB)
  • Leader: Anthony GAROTINHO
  • Seats won in this election: 3
• Other Parties
  • Seats won in this election: 6

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 174,468,575 (2002)
• Registered Voters: 115,254,113 (2002)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 91,635,538 (2002)

·         Is Brazil a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (31 March 1981)

·         Has Brazil ratified CEDAW: Yes (1 February 1984)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 44 (Chamber of Deputies); 10 (Federal Senate) (following 2002 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 75 (2014)

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

Disability Data:

·         Is Brazil a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Brazil ratified CRPD: Yes (1 August 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 27,156,838 (est.)