At stake in this election:

• 36 seats in the Chamber of Senators.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma
• Head of Government: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma
• Assembly: Bolivia has a bicameral Plurinational Assembly consisting of the Chamber of Senators with 36 seats and the Chamber of Deputies with 130 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Chamber of Senators 36 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies, 70 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms, 53 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms and 7 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.**

* Each of the nine Bolivian states elects four Senators. Allocation is by the D'Hondt method. (Before December 2009, there were three Senators per state, and no party could win more than two of the three seats in each.)

** PR seats are apportioned to each state in proportion to population, and these are allocated to parties in proportion to their respective shares of the Presidential vote in each state. Seven reserved indigenous seats are apportioned to non-contiguous, rural areas in seven of the nine states. Voters who declare themselves indigenous may vote for an indigenous deputy instead of in the regular, single-member district election.

Main parties in this electoral race:

• Party: Movement toward Socialism / Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS)
  • Leader: Juan Evo MORALES AIMA
  • Seats won in this election: 26
• Party: Plan Progress for Bolivia / Plan Progreso para Bolivia (PPB)
  • Leader: Manfred REYES VILLA
  • Seats won in this election:10
• Party: National Unity Front / Frente de Unidad Nacional (UN)
  • Leader: Samuel Jorge DORIA MEDINA AUZA
  • Seats won in this election: 0
• Party: Social Alliance / Alianza Social
  • Leader: René JOAQUINO Carlos
  • Seats won in this election: 0

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 9,775,246 (2009)
• Registered Voters: 5,139,554 (2009)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 4,867,702 (2009)

·         Is Bolivia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (30 May 1980)

·         Has Bolivia ratified CEDAW: Yes (8 June 1990)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 29 (National Congress); 15 (Chamber of Senators) (following 2009 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 119 (2014)

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

Disability Data:

·         Is Bolivia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (13 August 2007)

·         Has Bolivia ratified CRPD: Yes (16 November 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,467,869 (est.)