Additional information about gender quotas

In 1997, Electoral Law No. 275 imposed a 25 per cent quota for women among candidates for elective positions. After the elections in 1998, leaders of political parties negotiated with the Central Electoral Commission that this provision would be interpreted as the obligation to guarantee that women's representation at the national level would not be less than 25 per cent (or 45 of the 179 total number of seats for both houses of parliament). This decision, in effect, removed the burden for each individual party to guarantee 25 per cent women among their parliamentary delegations. In 2000, amendments to the electoral law increased the quota provision to 33 per cent,. In 2002 the legislated candidate quota requirement for the Senate was revoked.

Although elections were planned for May 2020, they have been postponed due to COVID-19 until the 5th of July.