At stake in this election:

• 27 seats in the Federal Senate (Senado Federal)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA *
• Head of Government: President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA
• 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: Party of the Liberal Front / Partido da Frente Liberal (PFL)
  • Leader: Jorge BORNHAUSEN
  • Seats won in last Federal Senate election: 19
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 84
• Party: Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement / Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (PMDB)
  • Leader: Michel TEMER
  • Seats won in last Federal Senate election: 19
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 74
• Party: Brazilian Social Democracy Party / Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira (PSDB)
  • Leader: Tasso JEREISSATI
  • Seats won in last Federal Senate election: 11
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 71
• Party: Workers' Party / Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT)
  • Leader: Ricardo José Ribeiro BERZOINI
  • Seats won in last Federal Senate election: 14
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 91
• Party: Socialism and Freedom Party / Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL)*****
  • Leader: Heloísa HELENA
  • Seats won in last Federal Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• Party: Democratic Labor Party / Partido Democrático Trabalhista (PDT)
  • Leader: Carlos Roberto LUPI
  • Seats won in last Federal Senate election: 5
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 21
• Party: Brazilian Socialist Party / Partido Socialista Brasileiro (PSB)
  • Leader: Roberto AMARAL
  • Seats won in last Federal Senate election: 4
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 22
• Party: Green Party / Partido Verde (PV)
  • Leader: José Luiz de França PENNA
  • Seats won in last Federal Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 5

***** The Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL) was formed after the 2002 elections. Some of its members were elected in the last legislature as candidates of the Workers' Party.

Last Legislative election:

• Legislative elections were last held on 6 October 2002. In the last election, candidates contested 54 seats in the Federal Senate and 513 in the Chamber of Deputies.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 188,078,227 (July 2006 )
• Registered Voters: 125,913,479 (June 2006 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 96,633,454 (2006)

·         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: 45 (Chamber of Deputies); 4 (Federal Senate) (following 2006 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: 28,211,734 (est.)