SHARECountry Data
EXPLORE QUOTA DATA
Paraguay (Republic of Paraguay)
Paraguay (Republic of Paraguay) has a Bicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas. 12 of 80 (15%) seats in the Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Bicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Upper House? Yes
- For the Sub-National Level? Yes
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Apr 24, 2019
Single/Lower House
Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies
| Total seats | 80 |
| Total Women | 12 |
| % Women | 15% |
| Election Year | 2018 |
| 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 32 [r] [1] of the Electoral Code, 1 in every 5 candidates in primary elections for parties and movements should be a woman (20%). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | Party lists that do not meet the quota will not be approved by the Electoral Commission (Article 32 [r] [3]). |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | No ranking orders provided. The political party or movement is free to set the order of precedence in the list (Article 32 [r] [2]). |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | the state subsidizes political parties no matter how they are composed. 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 |
Upper House
Cámara de Senadores / Senate
| Total seats | 45 |
| Total Women | 8 |
| % Women | 18% |
| Election Year | 2018 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | Legislated Candidate Quotas¤> |
| Election details | IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas¤ | Electoral law | According to Article 32 [r] [1] of the Electoral Code, 1 in every 5 candidates in primary elections for parties and movements should be a woman. |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | Party lists that do not meet the quota will not be approved by the Electoral Commission (Article 32 [r] [3]). |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | None. The political party or movement is free to set the order of precedence in the list (Article 32 [r] [2]). |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
- Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas¤
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas¤ | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | Parties are required to have internal party mechanisms to ensure that 1 in every 5 candidates in the parties and movement primaries list should be a woman (Article 32 [r] [1]). | |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | Party lists that do not meet the quota will not be approved for the election by the Electoral Commission (Article 32 [r] [3]). |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | None. The political party or movement is free to set the order of precedence in the list (Article 32 [r] [2]). |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Republic Association | Asociación Nacional Republicana/Partido Colorado [ANR] | ANR has a 30 percent quota for women on electoral lists (Party statues 2001, Article 72; Pereira & González 2008, p. 4-5). | |
| Authentic Radical Liberal Party | Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico [PLRA] | One third of candidates on electoral lists must be women (Party statutes 2006, Article 9; Pereira & González 2008, p. 4-5). | |
| National Union of Ethical Citizens | Partido Unión Nacional de Ciudadanos Éticos [UNACE] | UNACE has a 30 percent quota for women on electoral lists (Party statutes 2002, Article 76; Pereira & González 2008, p. 4-5). | |
| Party for a Country of Solidarity | Partido País Solidario [PPS] | PPS has a 30 percent quota for women on electoral lists. There is also a rank-order rule for the first third of places on electoral lists, stipulating that male and female candidates are placed alternately (Party statutes 2002, Article 76; Pereira & González 2008, p. 4-5). |
* 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
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Codigo Electoral Paraguayo Actualizado, Ley 834/96, con las modificationes de la Ley de Financiamiento [Electoral code Law 834/96, with the amendments related to the law on financing], accessed 04 April 2014;
- Ley no 3.966/10 Orgánica municipal [Municipal Organic Law no. 3.966/10], accessed 04 April 2014;
OTHER SOURCES:
- European Union Election Observation Mission to Paraguay, ‘Final Report, General Elections, 21 April 2013’, accessed 04 April 2014;
- Garzón de la Roza, G., Llanos, B. and Roza, V., Gender and Political Parties: Far from Parity (Stockholm, Lima and Washington, DC: International IDEA and Inter-American Development Bank, 2011), accessed 24 April 2018;
- International IDEA, The Implementation of Quotas: Latin American Experiences, Quota Report Series no. 2 (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2003), accessed 24 April 2018;
- Pereira, M. and González, M., ‘La participación política de las mujeres’ [Political participation of women], in B. Llanos and K. Sample (eds), Del dicho al hecho: manual de buenas practicas para la participación de mujeres en los partidos políticos latinoamericanos [From words to action: best practices for women’s participation in Latin American political parties] (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2008), accessed 04 April 2014;
Additional reading
- 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 Mark P. Jones. 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, Jacqueline. 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, Jacqueline. 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.
- Htun, Mala N. 1998. Women's Political Participation, Representation and Leadership in Latin America. Issue Brief, Women's Leadership Conference of the Americas.
- Chamber of Deputies website, http://www.diputados.gov.py/ww5// Senate website, http://www.senado.gov.py/