Gender Quotas Database
Bolivia
South America
Single / Lower House
Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies
| Total seats | 130 |
| Total women | 60 |
| Percentage of women | 46% |
| Gender Quota target | 50% |
| Election year | 2020 |
| Electoral system | MMP |
| Quota type | Legislated Candidate Quotas |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Electoral law |
(EQUIVALENCE OF CONDITIONS). Bolivian intercultural democracy guarantees gender equity and equal opportunities for women and men. The competent electoral authorities are obliged to comply with this, in accordance with the following basic criteria: a) The lists of candidates for Senators, Deputies, Departmental and Regional Assembly members, Municipal Councillors, and other elective authorities, titular and substitute, shall respect gender parity and alternation between women and men, in such a way that there is a female incumbent candidate, followed by a male incumbent candidate; a male substitute candidate, followed by a female substitute candidate, in succession. (b) In cases of election of a single candidate in a constituency, gender equality, parity and alternation shall be expressed in terms of incumbents and alternates. In the total of such constituencies at least fifty percent (50%) of the incumbent candidates shall be women. c) The lists of the candidates of indigenous nations and peoples originally peasants, prepared in accordance with their own rules and procedures, they will respect the principles mentioned in the preceding paragraph. (Article 11 - Electoral Regime Law) (ELECTION OF PLURINOMINAL DEPUTIES). … II. The lists of candidates to Deputies Plurinominal, incumbent and substitutes will be prepared with gender equivalence, in accordance with the provisions of article 11 of this Law. In case of an odd number, preference will be given to women. (Article 58)
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law |
The lists of candidates must comply with the requirements of parity and alternation. Breaches of this provision will result in the rejection of the list of candidates. In this case, the political organization shall be notified of the rejection, and should rectify the list of candidates no later than 72 hours from the notification (Article 107). Electoral Law. Article 91. (VERY SERIOUS OFFENSES). The following are very serious misdemeanours: 3. Failure to comply with the obligation to verify and guarantee the principles of equality, parity and alternation between men and women, in the lists of candidates at all stages of the electoral process. |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law |
(EQUIVALENCE OF CONDITIONS). Bolivian intercultural democracy guarantees gender equity and equal opportunities for women and men. The competent electoral authorities are obliged to comply with this, in accordance with the following basic criteria: a) The lists of candidates for Senators, Deputies, Departmental and Regional Assembly members, Municipal Councillors, and other elective authorities, titular and substitute, shall respect gender parity and alternation between women and men, in such a way that there is a female incumbent candidate, followed by a male incumbent candidate; a male substitute candidate, followed by a female substitute candidate, in succession. (Article 11 - Electoral Regime Law) |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No data | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Upper House
Cámara de Senadores / Chamber of Senators
| Total seats | 36 |
| Total women | 20 |
| Percentage of women | 56% |
| Gender Quota target | 50% |
| Election year | 2020 |
| Electoral system | MMP |
| Quota type | Legislated Candidate Quotas |
| Election details | IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Electoral law |
(EQUIVALENCE OF CONDITIONS). Bolivian intercultural democracy guarantees gender equity and equal opportunities for women and men. The competent electoral authorities are obliged to comply with this, in accordance with the following basic criteria: a) The lists of candidates for Senators, Deputies, Departmental and Regional Assembly members, Municipal Councillors, and other elective authorities, titular and substitute, shall respect gender parity and alternation between women and men, in such a way that there is a female incumbent candidate, followed by a male incumbent candidate; a male substitute candidate, followed by a female substitute candidate, in succession. (b) In cases of election of a single candidate in a constituency, gender equality, parity and alternation shall be expressed in terms of incumbents and alternates. In the total of such constituencies at least fifty percent (50%) of the incumbent candidates shall be women. c) The lists of the candidates of indigenous nations and peoples originally peasants, prepared in accordance with their own rules and procedures, they will respect the principles mentioned in the preceding paragraph. (Article 11 - Electoral Regime Law) (ELECTION OF PLURINOMINAL DEPUTIES). … II. The lists of candidates to Deputies Plurinominal, incumbent and substitutes will be prepared with gender equivalence, in accordance with the provisions of article 11 of this Law. In case of an odd number, preference will be given to women. (Article 58) |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law |
The lists of candidates must comply with the requirements of parity and alternation. Breaches of this provision will result in the rejection of the list of candidates. In this case, the political organization shall be notified of the rejection, and should rectify the list of candidates no later than 72 hours from the notification (Article 107).
Electoral Law. Article 91. (VERY SERIOUS OFFENSES). The following are very serious misdemeanours: 3. Failure to comply with the obligation to verify and guarantee the principles of equality, parity and alternation between men and women, in the lists of candidates at all stages of the electoral process. |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law |
(EQUIVALENCE OF CONDITIONS). Bolivian intercultural democracy guarantees gender equity and equal opportunities for women and men. The competent electoral authorities are obliged to comply with this, in accordance with the following basic criteria: a) The lists of candidates for Senators, Deputies, Departmental and Regional Assembly members, Municipal Councillors, and other elective authorities, titular and substitute, shall respect gender parity and alternation between women and men, in such a way that there is a female incumbent candidate, followed by a male incumbent candidate; a male substitute candidate, followed by a female substitute candidate, in succession. (Article 11 - Electoral Regime Law) |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
| Quota type | Legislated Candidate Quotas |
| Gender Quota target | 50% |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Electoral law |
(EQUIVALENCE OF CONDITIONS). Bolivian intercultural democracy guarantees gender equity and equal opportunities for women and men. The competent electoral authorities are obliged to comply with this, in accordance with the following basic criteria: a) The lists of candidates for Senators, Deputies, Departmental and Regional Assembly members, Municipal Councillors, and other elective authorities, titular and substitute, shall respect gender parity and alternation between women and men, in such a way that there is a female incumbent candidate, followed by a male incumbent candidate; a male substitute candidate, followed by a female substitute candidate, in succession. (b) In cases of election of a single candidate in a constituency, gender equality, parity and alternation shall be expressed in terms of incumbents and alternates. In the total of such constituencies at least fifty percent (50%) of the incumbent candidates shall be women. c) The lists of the candidates of indigenous nations and peoples originally peasants, prepared in accordance with their own rules and procedures, they will respect the principles mentioned in the preceding paragraph. (Article 11 - Electoral Regime Law) (ELECTION OF PLURINOMINAL DEPUTIES). … II. The lists of candidates to Deputies Plurinominal, incumbent and substitutes will be prepared with gender equivalence, in accordance with the provisions of article 11 of this Law. In case of an odd number, preference will be given to women. (Article 58) |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law |
The lists of candidates must comply with the requirements of parity and alternation. Breaches of this provision will result in the rejection of the list of candidates. In this case, the political organization shall be notified of the rejection, and should rectify the list of candidates no later than 72 hours from the notification (Article 107).
Electoral Law. Article 91. (VERY SERIOUS OFFENSES). The following are very serious misdemeanours: 3. Failure to comply with the obligation to verify and guarantee the principles of equality, parity and alternation between men and women, in the lists of candidates at all stages of the electoral process. |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law |
(EQUIVALENCE OF CONDITIONS). Bolivian intercultural democracy guarantees gender equity and equal opportunities for women and men. The competent electoral authorities are obliged to comply with this, in accordance with the following basic criteria: a) The lists of candidates for Senators, Deputies, Departmental and Regional Assembly members, Municipal Councillors, and other elective authorities, titular and substitute, shall respect gender parity and alternation between women and men, in such a way that there is a female incumbent candidate, followed by a male incumbent candidate; a male substitute candidate, followed by a female substitute candidate, in succession. (Article 11 - Electoral Regime Law) |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official Name | Details, Quota provisions |
|---|---|---|
| No data available. | ||
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional information
A quota law for national elections was first introduced in 1997. According to this law, parties were required to include women on their lists of candidates, following the rule that every third candidate on the lists for Chamber of Deputies, and every fourth candidate for the Chamber of Senators, must be a woman. In 2010, the Electoral Law was amended to include the principle of parity, meaning that the number of men and women on the lists of candidates for any elections at the national and sub-national level should be equal (50/50), and that every other candidate on the lists should be a woman. The new law on parity has been applied for the first time in the recent 2014 general elections.
Although elections were planned for May 2020, they have been postponed due to CO-VID19
In 2020 “the share of women parliamentarians in Bolivia’s lower house dropped from 53.1 percent to 46.2 percent, a -6.9 point drop. This is the first time since 2014 that women’s representation has fallen below 50 per cent, but it remains close to parity. Bolivia has ranked second in the world for women’s representation in parliament since 2014, after Rwanda, and has parity quota in place”(Inter-Parlamentary Union 2021, p. 7).
Sources
Legal Sources:
- Constitution of Bolivia - Link
- Election Law (amended through 2015, 2018 I, II, III) - Link
- Electoral Regime Law - Link
- Political Party Law - Link
Other Sources:
- Parliament of Bolivia - Link
- Electoral Commission - Link
- Llanos, B. (2019): "Surcando olas y contra-olas: Una mirada paritaria a los derechos políticos de las mujeres en América Latina". Atenea, International Idea, ONU Mujeres, UNDP.
- Novillo Gonzáles, M.A (2015): "Más allá de los Números: Las Mujeres transforman el Poder Legislativo en América Latina y el Caribe. Estudio del país: Bolivia". UNDP with the collaboration of the Spanish Government.
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Bolivia on iKNOW Politics
-
Brockmann Quiroga, E. (2017): "Perfil de género y de paridad en las organizaciones políticas del ámbito departamental y municipal: El caso de quince organizaciones con representación en asambleas legislativas departamentales y concejos municipales de capitales de departamento". Stockholm. Eds: Observatorio de Paridad Democrática, International IDEA, OEP.
- Bolivia Parliament website, http://www.diputados.bo//
- Ardaya, G. 2008 'La democracia y las buenas practices de inclusion de las mujeres en la política' in Sample, K. and Llanos, B. (ed) Del Dicho al Hecho International IDEA
-
Benavides, J.C. 2003. ‘Women’s Political Participation in Bolivia: Progress and Obstacles’ in International IDEA The Implementation of Quotas: Latin American
Experiences, Quota Workshop Report Series no. 2, Stockholm: International IDEA, pp. 104–11. - ‘Cinco partidos incumplen leyes sobre cuotas electorales’ (Five parties do not meet the laws on electoral quotas). 2002. Cimacnoticias.com, April 3.
- Htun, Mala N. 2002. ‘Mujeres y poder político en Latinoamérica,’ in International IDEA, Mujeres en el Parlamento. Más allá de los números, Stockholm: International IDEA, pp. 19-44.
- Htun, Mala N. and Jones, P.M. 2002. ‘Engendering the Right to Participate in Decision-Making: Electoral Quotas and Women's Leadership in Latin America.’ Nikki Craske and Maxine Molyneux(ed.) Gender and the Politics of Rights and Democracy in Latin America. New York: Palgrave. pp. 32-56.
- Peschard, J. 2002. ‘El sistema de cuotas en América Latina. Panorama general,’ in International IDEA. Mujeres en el Parlamento. Más allá de los números, Stockholm: International IDEA, pp. 173-186.
- Jimenez Polanco, J. 2001. ‘La représentation politique des femmes en Amérique Latine: une analyse comparée’ (Women's political representation in Latin America: a comparative analysis). Bérengère Marques-Pereira and Patricio Nolasco (ed.) La représentation politique des femmes en Amérique Latine(Women's political representation in Latin America). Brussels: L'Harmattan. pp. 27-81.
- Women's Leadership Conference of the Americas. 2001. Women and Power in the Americas: A Report Card. Washington: Women's Leadership Conference of the Americas.
- Estrada, C. 1998. ‘Bolivia: Mecanismos institucionales para la igualdad de oportunidades de hombres y mujeres y La mujer en el ejercicio de poder y la adopción de decisiones’ (Bolivia: Institutional mechanisms for equality of opportunities for women and men, and women in power and decision-making). Silvia Vega Ugalde(ed.) Acceso de las mujeres a la toma de decisiones en los países andinos(Access of women to decision-making in the Andean countries). Quito:
- Htun, Mala N. 1998. Women's Political Participation, Representation and Leadership in Latin America. Issue Brief, Women's Leadership Conference of the Americas.
- Gutierrez, E. 1997. ‘Women-Latam: Andean Women Flex Their Political Muscle.’ Interpress Service, September 23.
- Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1997a. Men and Women in Politics: Democracy Still in the Making, A World Comparative Study. Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union.
- Rocha, J. C. 1997. ‘Bolivia-Women: Women Score a Win for Political Equality.’ Interpress Service, March.
Explore more resources: Americas | Global
Know about useful additional reading for Bolivia? Tell us!
Submit feedback
Submit questions or comments about the Data or Tool
How did you find out about this? What do you like about it? What did you expect but did not find in using the Data or Tool?
To see how we handle your personal data, please read our Privacy Policy.
