Gender Quotas Database

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Uruguay (Eastern Republic of Uruguay)

Uruguay (Eastern Republic of Uruguay) has a Bicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas and legislated quotas for the single/lower house and upper house and at the sub-national level. 26 of 99 (26%) seats in the Cámara de Representantes / House of Representatives 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: Feb 21, 2023

Single/Lower House

Cámara de Representantes / House of Representatives

Total seats 99
Total Women 26
% Women 26%
Election Year 2019
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

Article 2 (2-3) of Law no. 18.476 stipulates, for the elections to be held in 2014, that candidates of both sexes must be represented in every 3 places on electoral lists, either throughout the entire list or in the first 15 places. Where only 2 seats are contested, 1 of the 2 candidates must be a woman.

The equitable participation of persons of both sexes in the composition of the Legislative Branch, City Halls, Departmental Boards, Municipalities, Electoral Boards and in the management bodies of political parties is hereby declared to be of general interest. (Parity Law, Article 1)”.

Legal sanctions for non-compliance Electoral law Lists that fail to comply with the gender quota requirements shall be rejected by the Electoral Court (Article 3).
Rank order/placement rules Electoral law Women must be represented in every third place on candidate lists, either throughout the entire list or in the first fifteen places (Law nº 18.476, Article 2 [2]).
Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? No  
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 31
Total Women 9
% Women 29%
Election Year 2019
Electoral System List PR
Quota Type Legislated Candidate Quotas>
Election details IPU Parline
  Legal source Details
Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas Constitution  
Electoral law Article 2 (2-3) of the electoral law stipulates, for the elections to be held in 2014, that candidates of both sexes must be represented in every 3 places on electoral lists, either throughout the entire list or in the first 15 places. Where only 2 seats are contested, 1 of the 2 candidates must be a woman.
Legal sanctions for non-compliance Electoral law Lists that fail to comply shall be rejected by the Electoral Court (Law nº 18.476, Article 3).
Rank order/placement rules Electoral law Women must be represented in every third place on candidate lists, either throughout the entire list or in the first fifteen places (Law nº 18.476, Article 2 [2]).

Quota at the Sub-National Level

  • Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
  Legal source Details
Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas Constitution  
Electoral law For elections to departmental legislative bodies, candidates of both sexes must be represented in every 3 places on electoral lists, either throughout the entire list or in the first 15 places. Where only 2 seats are contested, 1 of the 2 candidates must be a woman. However, Article 2 (2-3) limits the application of the quota to the 2015 departmental elections.
Legal sanctions for non-compliance Electoral law Lists that fail to comply with the gender quota requirements shall be rejected by the Electoral Court (Article 3).
Rank order/placement rules Electoral law Women must be represented in every third place on candidate lists, either throughout the entire list or in the first fifteen places (Law nº 18.476, Article 2 [2]).

Voluntary Political Party Quotas*

Party Official name Details, Quota provisions
Socialist Party of Uruguay Partido Socialista del Uruguay [PS] In the 1980's PS adopted a quota for women. The quota is dependent upon the percentage of women members of the Party in each jurisdiction. (Statutes 2003, Art. 65)

* 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

The current quota law also establishes quotas for internal party elections: among the candidates to parties’ conventions and executive bodies, one out of every three candidates must be a woman. The quota is applicable as of the internal elections in June 2009 and is not subject to temporal limits.

Sources

LEGAL SOURCES:

OTHER SOURCES:

 

Additional reading

  • See the latest updates on Uruguay on iKNOW Politics
  • Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean: Uruguay (Official Website)
  • UN Women. 2014. Ready for the lists, say Uruguayan Women. Fund for Gender Equality.
  • Johnson, N. 2003. ‘La Cuota: un mecanismo necesario y efectivo para incrementar la participación de mujeres en cargos políticos relevantes? El caso uruguayo’ in A. Nelida (ed.) Estrategias Políticas de Género, Reformas Institucionales, Identidad y Acción Colectiva, Proyecto UBACYT, Buenos Aires: Instituto de Investigaciones – Facultad de Ciencias Sociales.
  • Peschard, J. 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.
  • Aguirre, R. 2001. ‘La citoyenneté politique des femmes en Uruguay.’ Bérengère Marques-Pereira and Patricio Nolasco (eds.), La représentation politique des femmes en Amérique Latine. Brussels: L'Harmattan. pp. 139-161.
  • Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1997a. Men and Women in Politics: Democracy Still in the Making, A World Comparative Study. Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union.
  • Uruguay Parliament website, http://www.diputados.gub.uy/index.htm

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