The
National Congress is the national
legislatureA legislature is a type of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law...
of
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
, based in the nation's
de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established"...
capital,
La PazLa Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department. Located at an elevation of , it is the world's highest capital city. La Paz sits in a bowl surrounded by the high altiplano. As it grows, La Paz climbs the hills, resulting in varying...
.
The National Congress is
bicameralIn government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses. Bicameralism is an essential and defining feature of the classical notion of mixed...
, consisting of a
lower houseA lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its theoretical position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
(the Chamber of Deputies or
Cámara de Diputados) and an
upper houseAn upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.- Possible specific characteristics :An upper house is usually distinct from the lower house in at least one of the following respects:...
(the Senate, or
Cámara de Senadores).
The Senate has 27 seats. Each of the country's nine
departments||Bolivia is divided into 9 departments . These are :*Beni *Chuquisaca *Cochabamba *La Paz *Oruro *Pando *Potosí...
returns three senators: two from the party or formula that receives the most votes, with the third senator representing the second-placed party.
The
National Congress is the national
legislatureA legislature is a type of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law...
of
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
, based in the nation's
de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established"...
capital,
La PazLa Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of La Paz Department. Located at an elevation of , it is the world's highest capital city. La Paz sits in a bowl surrounded by the high altiplano. As it grows, La Paz climbs the hills, resulting in varying...
.
The National Congress is
bicameralIn government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses. Bicameralism is an essential and defining feature of the classical notion of mixed...
, consisting of a
lower houseA lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its theoretical position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
(the Chamber of Deputies or
Cámara de Diputados) and an
upper houseAn upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.- Possible specific characteristics :An upper house is usually distinct from the lower house in at least one of the following respects:...
(the Senate, or
Cámara de Senadores).
The Senate has 27 seats. Each of the country's nine
departments||Bolivia is divided into 9 departments . These are :*Beni *Chuquisaca *Cochabamba *La Paz *Oruro *Pando *Potosí...
returns three senators: two from the party or formula that receives the most votes, with the third senator representing the second-placed party. Senators are elected from party lists to serve five-year terms, and the minimum age to hold a Senate seat is 35 years.
The Chamber of Deputies comprises 130 seats: 68 deputies are directly elected to represent single-member
electoral districtAn electoral district is a distinct region for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body. Not all political systems use separate districts to conduct elections; Israel and The Netherlands, for instance, conduct parliamentary elections using a single, nationwide district...
s, and an additional 62 are elected by proportional representation from party lists on a departmental basis. Deputies also serve five-year terms, and must be aged at least 25 on the day of the election. For the 2005 general election, seats were reapportioned, making 70 single-member
electoral districtAn electoral district is a distinct region for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body. Not all political systems use separate districts to conduct elections; Israel and The Netherlands, for instance, conduct parliamentary elections using a single, nationwide district...
s (60 are elected by proportional representation).
2002–2005 Congress
Congressional elections were held on 30 June 2002. After the votes were counted, party strengths in Congress were as follows:
Summary of the 30 June 2002 National Congress of Bolivia election results
| Parties |
Deputies |
Senators |
| Revolutionary Nationalist Movement The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement is a Bolivian political party, perhaps the most important in the country during the 20th century. At the legislative elections in 2002, the party won, in an alliance with the Free Bolivia Movement, 26.9% of the popular vote and 36 out of 130 seats in the...
(Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario, MNR) |
36 |
11 |
| Movement for Socialism The Movement for Socialism , alternately referred to as "Movement Toward Socialism" or "Movement to Socialism", is a Left-wing, Socialist, Bolivian political party led by Evo Morales, founded in 1997...
(Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS) |
27 |
8 |
| Movement of Revolutionary Left The Revolutionary Left Movement - New Majority is a social democratic political party in Bolivia...
(Movimiento Izquierda Revolucionaria, MIR) |
26 |
5 |
| New Republican Force The New Republican Force is a center-right personalist party in Bolivia.At the legislative elections in 2002, the party won 26.5 % of the popular vote and 25 out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and two out of 27 seats in the Senate...
(Nueva Fuerza Republicana, NFR) |
25 |
2 |
| Nationalist Democratic Action Nationalist Democratic Action is a right-wing party in Bolivia led by Jorge Quiroga. ADN was founded on March 23 1979 by the military dictator Hugo Banzer after he stepped down from power. It later expanded to include the Revolutionary Left Party and a faction of the Bolivian Socialist Falange...
(Acción Democrática Nacionalista, ADN) |
4 |
1 |
| Indigenous Pachakuti Movement The Indigenous Pachakuti Movement is a left-wing indigenist party in Bolivia.At the legislative elections in 2002, the party won 2.2% of the popular vote and 6 out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and no out of 27 seats in the Senate...
(Movimiento Indígena Pachakuti, MIP) |
6 |
0 |
| Citizens' Solidarity Union (Unión Cívica Solidaridad, UCS) |
5 |
0 |
| Socialist Party The Socialist Party is a socialist political party in Bolivia.At the legislative elections in 2002, the party won 0.7% of the popular vote and one out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and no seats in the Senate....
(Partido Socialista, PS) |
1 |
0 |
| Total |
130 |
27 |
The next election was scheduled to take place in June 2007, but was brought forward to December 2005 on a decision from interim President
Eduardo RodríguezEduardo Rodríguez Veltzé is a former president of Bolivia; prior to that appointment he was the chief justice of the Supreme Court.-Background:...
.
2005–2010 Congress
Congressional electionsThe 2005 Bolivian legislative election was held simultaneously with the presidential election on 18 December 2005. The elections were held to elect a new National Congress, composed of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate, for a full four-year term....
were held on 18 December 2005, concurrently with the
2005 presidential electionThe 2005 Bolivian presidential election was held on December 18, 2005. The two main candidates were Evo Morales of the Movement Towards Socialism Party, and Jorge Quiroga, leader of the Democratic and Social Power Party and former head of the Acción Democrática Nacionalista Party. Felipe Quispe,...
.
Buildings
The two chambers of Congress meet in the legislative palace located on Plaza Murillo, La Paz's main city-centre square. Plaza Murillo is also flanked by the presidential palace (informally known as the
Palacio QuemadoThe Palacio Quemado is a popular name to denote the Bolivian Palace of Government, located on Plaza Murillo in downtown La Paz. It is the building from which the Bolivian executive conducts its business.The building has had many incarnations...
– the "Burnt Palace" – on account of repeated attempts to raze it to the ground in the 19th century) and the cathedral of Nuestra Señora de La Paz. Prior to becoming the seat of the legislature in 1904, the congress building had, at different times, housed a
conventA convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
and a
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
.
The Vice-President, in his capacity as President of Congress, has an imposing suite of offices on Calle Mercado in central La Paz. The building, designed by Emilio Villanueva, was erected during the 1920s and was originally intended to serve as the headquarters of Bolivia's
central bankA central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a banking institution granted the exclusive privilege to a lend a government its currency...
(
Banco de la Nación Boliviana). Under
Jaime Paz ZamoraJaime Paz Zamora was President of Bolivia from August 6, 1989 to August 6, 1993. He also served as Vice-President between 1982 and 1984.-Foundation of the MIR and alliance with Siles Zuazo:...
's 1989–1993
presidencyThe President of Bolivia is the head of state of Bolivia. According to the current constitution, the president is elected by popular vote for a single non-renewable five year term...
, the building was reassigned to the vice-presidency, but the vice-presidential staff did not relocate entirely until major reconstruction and renovation work, starting in 1997, had been carried out. The Library of Congress and the National Congressional Archive are also located on the premises.
External links