SHARECountry Data
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:
- Constitution of Portugal (rev. 2005) (English version)
- Law on Parity in Collegiate Bodies Representing Political Power (Organisational Law no. 1/2019 of 29 March 2019, English version)
OTHER SOURCES:
-
Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU Parline Portugal
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Portugal on iKNOW Politics
- Sousa Galita, M. (2018). Women in politics - Portugal as a case study. [Working Paper CEsA CSG 173 / 2018]
- de Figueiredo Pires de Almeida, M. A. (2017). Women Mayors in Portugal: A Case Study in Political Representation and Citizenship. Revista de Sociologia e Política, 26(68), pp. 27-42
- European Institute for Gender Equality (n.d.). Bringing young women into politics: The project "From woman to woman". [Portugal]
- Jiménez, A. M. R. (2009). Women and decision-making participation within rightist parties in Portugal and Spain. Análise Social, 44(191), pp. 235-263.
- Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1999. Participation of Women in Public Life . Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union.
- Portuguese Parliament website, http://www.parlamento.pt/