SHARECountry Data
Portugal (Portuguese Republic) has a Unicameral parliament with legislated quotas for the single/lower house and at the sub-national level. 82 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? No
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Apr 26, 2019
Single/Lower House
Assembleia da Republica / Assembly of the Republic
| Total seats | 230 |
| Total Women | 82 |
| % Women | 36% |
| Election Year | 2015 |
| 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 | Candidate lists for the elections to the National Assembly shall be composed in a way such as to promote a minimum representation of 33% of each sex (Equality Law No. 3/2006 of 21 August 2006, Articles 1 and 2 (1)). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | If a list does not comply with the quota requirement, the error is to be made public and there will be financial sanctions in the form of reduction of the public funding provided for the conduct of the electoral campaign, in relation to the level of inequality on lists (Article 7).The financial sanction does not apply to lists with less than 3 names (Article 7 (2)). |
| 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 the quota requirement, the error is to be made public and there will be financial sanctions in the form of reduction of the public funding provided for the conduct of the electoral campaign, in relation to the level of inequality on lists (Article 7).The financial sanction does not apply to lists with less than 3 names (Article 7 [2]). |
| 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)). |
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
- Lei Orgânica no 3/2006, Lei da paridade Estabelece que as listas para a Assembleia da República, para o Parlamento Europeu e para as autarquias locais são compostas de modo a assegurar a representação mínima de 33% de cada um dos sexos [Organic Law no. 3/2006 on parity, providing for a requirement of a minimum 33% representation of each sex in candidate lists for elections to the Assembly of the Republic, the European Parliament and local authorities are required to ensure a minimum 33% representation of each sex],accessed 04 April 2014;
Additional reading
- Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1999. Participation of Women in Public Life . Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union.
- Portuguese Parliament website, http://www.parlamento.pt/