SHARECountry Data
Costa Rica (Republic of Costa Rica) 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. 27 of 57 (47%) seats in the Asamblea Legislativa / Legislative Assembly 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 21, 2023
Single/Lower House
Asamblea Legislativa / Legislative Assembly
| Total seats | 57 |
| Total Women | 27 |
| % Women | 47% |
| 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 | Articles 2 of the Law 8765 of 2009 establishes that "The political participation of men and women is a human right acknowledged in a democratic, representative, participatory and inclusive society under the principles of equality and nondiscrimination. Participation shall be governed by the principle of parity which implies that all delegations, electoral lists and other entities with an even number of members must be composed of 50% of members from each gender, and in delegations, electoral lists or entities with an odd number of members the difference between the total number of men and women shall not exceed one" Additionally, article 148 establishes that "All official lists of candidates for popular elections and official list of candidates for positions in the administrative and political representation organs shall be prepared in line with the principles of party and gender alternation. The first position on each electoral list of candidates for popular election by province, canton and district shall be determined by the political parties." |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | Article 148 establishes that "The Electoral Registry shall not register official lists of candidates for popular elections by province, canton and district of political parties that do not comply with the principle of parity and gender alternation."
|
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | According to Article 2 of the electoral law, two persons of the same sex cannot be subsequently included on the list of candidates. |
| 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 | Articles 2 of the Law 8765 of 2009 establishes that "The political participation of men and women is a human right acknowledged in a democratic, representative, participatory and inclusive society under the principles of equality and nondiscrimination. Participation shall be governed by the principle of parity which implies that all delegations, electoral lists and other entities with an even number of members must be composed of 50% of members from each gender, and in delegations, electoral lists or entities with an odd number of members the difference between the total number of men and women shall not exceed one" Additionally, article 148 establishes that "All official lists of candidates for popular elections and official list of candidates for positions in the administrative and political representation organs shall be prepared in line with the principles of party and gender alternation. The first position on each electoral list of candidates for popular election by province, canton and district shall be determined by the political parties." |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | Article 148 establishes that "The Electoral Registry shall not register official lists of candidates for popular elections by province, canton and district of political parties that do not comply with the principle of parity and gender alternation." |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | According to Article 2 of the electoral law, two persons of the same sex cannot be subsequently included on the list of candidates. |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Liberation Party | Partido Liberación Nacional [PLN] | At least 40% of the places eligible for deputies and councilors will be reserved to be occupied by women (Party Statutes, Article 112). Representation and participation by gender will be governed by the principle of parity between men and women. The internal bodies and party leadership structures at their different levels, when they have a total number of members with an even number, must be made up of fifty percent (50%) women and fifty percent (50%) men. In addition, in the party leadership bodies, the mechanism of alternation by gender (woman-man, man-woman) will be used, in such a way that two people of the same gender do not may be consecutively in the corresponding organ or structures. For all party lists or ballots considered individually, both by popular election and in internal processes, the mechanism of alternation by gender (woman-man, man-woman) will be used, in such a way that two people of the same gender cannot be consecutively on the list or ballot (Party Statutes, Article 173). | |
| Christian-Social Unity Party | Partido Unidad Socialcristiana [PUSC] | The Party will have the following bodies: for legal representation, for higher political leadership, ethics and discipline, for political action. In the integration of all internal agencies where the number of positions to be filled is an even number, they will be made up of fifty percent (50%) women and fifty percent (50%) men; in cases where the number of positions to be filled is an odd number, the difference between the total number of men and women may not exceed one, with the exception of the formation of the Women's Front (Party statutes, Article 10). Equally choose between men and women the ten people militants who will serve as delegates to the National Assembly, of which they will be made up of fifty percent (50%) women and fifty percent (50%) men (Party Statutes, Article 18). |
* 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 legislative amendment of 2009 stipulating a 50% quota for women in the assembly as well as strict alternation on lists (Electoral Code, Articles 2 and 52) will apply to the 2014 legislative elections. In addition to the electoral gender quotas, the Electoral Law provides that the statutes of the political parties must include provisions for the promotion of gender equality within the party as a whole (Article 52). While the quota rule of 40% was implemented in the 1998 elections, the electoral authorities did not reject lists that did not meet the quota requirement, resulting in criticism from various organizations.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal ruled in 1999 that the quota law should be interpreted in the following way: lists should comprise a minimum of 40% of either sex, and that women should have 40% of electable seats, interpreted as the number of seats the party received in the district in the previous election (Jager Contreras 2008: 5–6; Resolution 1863 of 1999).
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Constitution of Costa Rica (rev. 2015) (Spanish version)
- Constitution of Costa Rica (rev. 2011) (English version)
- Electoral Code 2009
- Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones [Supreme Electoral Council], Resolution 2837 of 9 December 1999 and Resolution 1863 of 23 September 1999 in Revista Derecho Electoral N. º 9 Primer Semestre 2010, 'El principio de paridad de género en el nuevo Código Electoral' (Eugenia Ma. Zamora Chavarría);
OTHER SOURCES:
- Jager Contreras, M. 2008. "Costa Rica: Buenas prácticas pasa la participación de mujeres en la política: más allá de las cuotas" in B. Llanos and K. Sample (eds), Del dicho al hecho: Manual de buenas prácticas para la participación de mujeres en los partidos políticos latinoamericanos. Stockholm: International IDEA.
- Jager Contreras, M. 2015. "Más allá de los Números: Las Mujeres Transforman el Poder Legislativo en América Latina y el Caribe. Estudio del País: Costa Rica" UNDP in collaboration with the Spanish Government.
- Llanos, B. 2019. "Surcando olas y contra-olas. Una mirada paritaria a los derechos políticos de las mujeres en América Latina". Atenea, International IDEA, ONU Mujeres, UNDP.
- Organización de los Estados Americanos. 2010. "Informe de la Misión de Observación Electoral de la OEA sobre las Elecciones Generales Celebradas en la República de Costa Rica" [Report of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission on the general elections in the Republic of Costa Rica].
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Costa Rica on iKNOW Politics
- Bolaños Barquero, A. 2006. "Las Cuotas de Participación Política de la Mujer en Costa Rica, 1996-2005" Revista de Derecho Electoral. No. 1, Primer Semestre, 2006.
- Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (Official website)
- García, A.I. 2003. ‘Putting the mandate into practice: legal reform in Costa Rica’, in International IDEA The Implementation of Quotas: Latin American Experiences,
Quota Workshop Report Series no. 2, Stockholm: International IDEA, pp. 88–101. - 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, M. N. & Jones, M. P. 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.
- Olsen de Figueres, K. 2002. ‘El camino hacia la igualdad. Las mujeres costariccenses en el Parlamento.’(The Road to Equality - Women in Parliament in Costa Rica). Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. Stockholm: International IDEA. pp 147-156.
- 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.
- 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.
- Torres, I. 2001. La aplicacin de la cuota mnima de participacin de las mujeres.Ficcin o realidad? Un diagnstico para Costa Rica. San Jos: Fundacin Arias para la Paz y el Proceso Humano.
- Chamorro Santamaría, I. 1999. ‘La participación política de las mujeres.’ Revista parlamentaria 7, no. 1. pp. 73-83.
- Zúñiga Quirós, I. 1999. ‘Las mujeres en el quehacer político del Partido Unidad Social Cristiana.’ Revista parlamentaria 7, no. 1. pp. 287-315.
- Htun, Mala N. 1998. Women's Political Participation, Representation and Leadership in Latin America. Issue Brief, Women's Leadership Conference of the Americas.
- Camacho, R. 1998. ‘Las cuotas de participación política de las mujeres. ‘Paper presented at the Inter-American Dialogue/WLCA conference ‘La situación de la mujer en Centro América: una evaluación al umbral del siglo XXI,’ Managua, Nicaragua, March 12-13.
- Matland, R. E., & Michelle M. T. 1997. ‘Electoral System Effects on Women's Representation: Theoretical Arguments and Evidence from Costa Rica.’ Comparative Political Studies 30, no. 2. pp. 186-210.
- Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1997a. Men and Women in Politics: Democracy Still in the Making, A World Comparative Study. Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union.
- Camacho Granados, R., Povedano S. L., & Madrigal, E. S. 1997. Las cuotas mínimas de participación de las mujeres: Un mecanismo de acción afirmativa(Minimal quotas for women's participation: A mechanism of affirmative action). San José: Centro Nacional para el Desarrollo de la Mujer y la Familia.
- Costa Rican Parliament website, http://www.asamblea.go.cr/