At stake in this election:

• 20 seats in the Senate (Senado)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar *
• Head of Government: President Ricardo LAGOS Escobar
• Assembly: Chile has a bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 48 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) with 120 seats.

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

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 6-year term.
• In the Senate (Senado), 38 members are elected by popular vote to serve 8-year terms and 10 members are designated *. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados) 120 members are elected by popular vote to serve 4-year terms.

* One-half of the members in the Senate are elected every four years.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Christian Democratic Party (PDC) / Partido Demócrata Cristiano
  • Leader: Adolfo ZALDIVAR LARRAIN
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 2
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 23
• Party: National Renovation / Renovación Nacional (RN)
  • Leader: Sergio DIEZ URZUA
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 4
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 18
• Party: Independent Democratic Union / Unión Demócrata Independiente
  • Leader: Jovino NOVOA VASQUEZ
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 3
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 31

Population and number of registered voters

• Population: 16,096,517 (2005)
• Registered voters: 8,220,897 (2005)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 8,157,049 (2005)

·         Is Chile a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Chile ratified CEDAW: Yes (7 December 1989)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 18 (Chamber of Deputies); 2 (Senate) (following 2005 parliamentary election)

·         Human Development Index Position: 42 (2014)

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

Disability Data:

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

·         Has Chile ratified CRPD: Yes (29 July 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 2,267,465 (est.)