At stake in this election:

• 27 seats in the Senate (Senado)
• 51 seats in the House of Representatives (Cámara de Representantes)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Barack H. OBAMA
• Head of Government: Governor Luis FORTUNO
• Assembly: Puerto Rico has a bicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 27 seats and the House of Representatives (Cámara de Representantes) with 51 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by an electoral college to serve a 4-year term.
• Governor is elected by plurality vote to serve a 4-year term.
• In the Senate (Senado), 16 members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms and 11 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms*. In the House of Representatives (Cámara de Representantes), 11 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms and 40 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.**

* 16 members of the Senate are elected by plurality in 8 two-seat constituencies, and 11 members are elected at large. If the minority party elects fewer than 9 Senators, Puerto Rico’s Constitution provides for the enlargement of the body though “add-on” Senators.

** 40 members are elected in single-seat constituencies with a first past the post system and 11 members are elected at large. If the minority party elects fewer than 9 Representatives, Puerto Rico’s constitution provides for the enlargement of the body through the addition of “add-on” Representatives.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: New Progressive Party (NPP) / Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP)
  • Leader: Luis FORTUÑO Burset
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 22
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 37
• Party: Popular Democratic Party (PDP) / Partido Popular Democratico (PPD)
  • Leader: Alejandro GARCÍA PADILLA
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 5
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 14
• Party: Puerto Rican Independence Party / Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP)
  • Leader: Rubén BERRÍOS Martínez
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Sovereign Union Movement / Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS)
  • Leader: Arturo HERNÁNDEZ
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party / Partido Puertorriqueños por Puerto Rico (PPR)
  • Leader: Rogelio FIGUEROA
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A
• Party: Working People’s Party / Partido del Pueblo Trabajador (PPT)
  • Leader: Anneliesse SÁNCHEZ
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,690,923 (July 2012 )
• Registered Voters: 2,382,738 (November 2012 )