Commonwealth of Puerto Rico: Legislative Election, 8 November 2016

At stake in this election:

• 27 seats in the Senado (Senate)

Note on the results: The voter data is taken from the at-large Senator vote. 

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Barack H. OBAMA (since 20 January 2009)
• Head of Government: Governor Alejandro GARCIA Padilla (since 2 January 2013)
• Assembly: Puerto Rico has a bicameral Asamblea Legislativa (Legislative Assembly) consisting of the Senado (Senate) with 27 seats and the Camara de Representantes (House of Representatives) with 51 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• For the Senate, 16 members are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 11 at-large members are directly elected by simple majority vote. All members of the Senate serve 4-year terms. 

Last Election:

• The last election for the Senate was held on 6 November 2012. The Popular Democratic Party won 18 seats, the New Progressive Party won 8, and the Puerto Rican Independence Party won 1.

Main candidates in the election:

• Popular Democratic Party (PPD)/Partido Popular Democrático
  • Leader: Alejandro GARCÍA Padilla
  • Seats won in last election: 18
• New Progressive Party (PNP)/Partido Nuevo Progresista
  • Leader: Pedro PIERLUISI
  • Seats won in last election: 8
• Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP)/Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño
  • Leader: Rubén BERRÍOS Martínez
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• Sovereign Union Movement/Movimiento Unión Soberanista
  • Leader: Arturo HERNÁNDEZ
  • Seats won in last election: 0
• Working People’s Party/Partido del Pueblo Trabajador
  • Leader: Rafael Bernabe RIEFKOHL
  • Seats won in last election: 0

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 3,578,056 (July 2016 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 2,382,738 (2012)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,869,525 (July 2016 est.)

·         Is Puerto Rico a signatory to CEDAW: N/A

·         Has Puerto Rico ratified CEDAW: N/A

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 8 (15.69%)

·         Human Development Index Position: N/A

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Puerto Rico a signatory to CRPD: N/A

·         Has Puerto Rico ratified CRPD: N/A

·         Population with a disability: 536,708 (est.)