Gender Quotas Database

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Portugal (Portuguese Republic)

Portugal (Portuguese Republic) has a Unicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas and legislated quotas for the single/lower house and at the sub-national level. 83 of 230 (36%) seats in the Assembleia da Republica / Assembly of the Republic are held by women.

At a glance

Structure of Parliament: Unicameral

Are there legislated quotas...

  • For the Single/Lower House? Yes
  • For the Sub-National Level? Yes

Are there voluntary quotas...

  • Adopted by political parties? Yes

Is there additional information?...

  • Yes

Last updated: Feb 20, 2023

Single/Lower House

Assembleia da Republica / Assembly of the Republic

Total seats 230
Total Women 83
% Women 36%
Election Year 2022
Electoral System List PR
Quota Type Legislated Candidate Quotas
Election details IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline
  Legal source Details
Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas Constitution  
Electoral law

According to Article 1(1) of the Parity Law, 2006 (amended through 2019), "The candidate lists presented for election to the Assembly of the Republic, the European Parliament and elected bodies of local authorities, as well as the candidate list presented for election as a member of parish authorities, shall be drawn up in a way that ensures parity between men and women." 

Article 2 of the same law states, "For the purposes of applying this Law, parity shall mean a minimum representation of 40% of each sex, rounded, where appropriate, to the nearest unit. In order to comply with the provisions of the foregoing paragraph, listsshall not include more than two consecutive candidates of the same sex."

Legal sanctions for non-compliance Electoral law

“If a list does not comply with this law, the authorized representative shall be notified, in accordance with applicable electoral law to correct it within the time same law. Failure to correct the list of candidates within the period provided for in the respective electoral law shall determine rejection of the entire list. (Parity Law, articles 3 and 4)”

Rank order/placement rules Electoral law

In multi-member constituencies, the lists can not have more than 2 consecutive names of the same sex (Article 2 (2)).

Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? Yes  
See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database
Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? No  
See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database

Quota at the Sub-National Level

  • Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
  Legal source Details
Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas Constitution  
Electoral law

Candidate lists for the elections to local governments shall be composed in a way such as to promote a minimum representation of 33% of each sex (Articles 1 and 2 (1)). Exempted from the regulations are towns with less than 750 votes, and municipalities with less than 7500 voters ( Article 2 [4]).

Legal sanctions for non-compliance Electoral law

“If a list does not comply with this law, the authorized representative shall be notified, in accordance with applicable electoral law to correct it within the time same law. Failure to correct the list of candidates within the period provided for in the respective electoral law shall determine rejection of the entire list. (Parity Law, articles 3 and 4)”

Rank order/placement rules Electoral law

In multi-member constituencies, the lists can not have more than 2 consecutive names of the same sex. In single-member constituencies, the regulation to promote parity is included in each electoral law (Article 2 (2–3)).

Voluntary Political Party Quotas*

Party Official name Details, Quota provisions
Party for People, Animals and Nature Partido Pessoas-Animais-Natureza [PAN] The lists for National, Permanent, Regional, District and Municipal Political Commissions must observe proof of gender parity of 1/3. (Party Statutes, Article 17 (4))
Socialist Party Partido Socialista [PS] In order to promote effective equality between men and women in political participation, party bodies, as well as the multi-member candidacies lists for and proposed by them, must ensure: a) A representation of not less than 40% of militants of either sex, and each sequence of three elements contains at least one of a different sex, b) That the first and second places are obligatorily occupied by militants of a different sex (Art. 15.14, PS Statutes).

* 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

In the 2015 elections, parties did not experience difficulties with nominating at least 33 % women in their candidates list as provided by the electoral law (OSCE/ODIHR 2015).  72 women were elected in the October 2015 elections, the number of women was increased to 80 after the formation of the second Government on 27 November 2015 (IPU Parline). 

In 1999 the parliament rejected two proposals by the Socialist Party introducing a fixed number of candidates of each sex on party nominations. In 2006, Article 29 of the Law Governing Political Parties was amended to ensure gender equality in parties as well.

Sources

LEGAL SOURCES:

OTHER SOURCES:

 

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