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CHILE
Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies)
LAST ELECTIONS

Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module

A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page

Parliament name (generic / translated) Congreso Nacional / National Congress
Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Senado / Senate
BACKGROUND
Dates of election / renewal (from/to) 19 November 2017
Purpose of elections No coalition won an outright majority in the 155-member Chamber of Deputies and the 50-member Senate (see note 1). The Let's Go Chile (Chile Vamos) coalition, led by former President Sebastián Piñera, who held office from 2010 to 2014, became the largest force in both chambers. The Force of the Majority, led by former TV news anchor Senator Alejandro Guillier, came second in both chambers while the Broad Front (Frente Amplio), led by Ms. Beatriz Sánchez came third in the Chamber of Deputies. The percentage of women has increased in both chambers due the gender quota for candidates introduced in the 2015 electoral law (see note 2): 26.09% of the senators elected in 2017 were women (up from 20% in 2013) and 22.58% for the Chamber of Deputies (up from 15.83% in 2013).

During the election campaign, the major parties focused on the economy, tax, labour and education reforms. The Let's Go Chile leader promised to revive economic growth by lowering the corporate tax rate and scaling back the tax, labour and education reforms implemented by outgoing President Michelle Bachelet, who was constitutionally unable to seek re-election. On the contrary, the Force of the Majority leader promised to continue and deepen the reforms.

Parliamentary elections were held in parallel with the first round of the presidential elections. On 17 December, former President Piñera defeated Force of the Majority leader Guillier in the second round of elections.

Note 1:
In accordance with Act No. 20.840, the statutory number of members of the Chamber of Deputies increased from 120 to 155 and that of the Senate from 38 to 50. However, the Senate will comprise 43 members until 2022. 23 senators were elected in 2017, in addition to the 20 elected in 2013. 27 Senators will be elected in 2021, to make the Senate a 50-member body.

Note 2:
Under the 2015 electoral law, neither male nor female candidates may exceed 60% of the candidates in the list of party or coalition. The law also introduced the proportional representation system instead of the majority system. The previous binominal system granted one of the two seats in each district to the losing coalition as long as it gets at least a third of the votes.
Date of previous elections: 17 November 2013

Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: N/A

Timing of election: Upon normal expiry

Expected date of next elections: November 2021

Number of seats at stake: 155 (full renewal)

Number of candidates: 960 (563 men, 397 women)

Percentage of women candidates: 41.4%

Number of parties contesting the election: Not available.

Number of parties winning seats: 16

Alternation of power: Yes

Number of parties in government: 3

Names of parties in government: National Renovation Party (RN), Independent Democratic Union (UDI) and Political Evolution Party (EVOPOLI)

Date of the first session of the new parliament: 11 March 2018

Name of the new Speaker: Ms. Maya Fernández Allende (Socialist Party)
STATISTICS
Voter turnout
Round no 119 November 2017
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes
14'347'288
6'703'327 (46.72%)

Notes
Distribution of votes
Round no 1
Political Group Candidates Votes %
Chile Vamos (Let's Go Chile)
The Force of the Majority
Broad Front
Democratic Convergence
Green Regionalist Coalition
Independents
For All Chile
Distribution of seats
Round no 1
Political Group Total
Chile Vamos (Let's Go Chile) 73
The Force of the Majority 42
Broad Front 18
Democratic Convergence 14
Green Regionalist Coalition 4
Independents 3
For All Chile 1
Distribution of seats according to sex
Men
Women
Percent of women
120
35
22.58%
Distribution of seats according to age
Distribution of seats according to profession
Comments
Source: Chamber of Deputies (13.03.2018)
Preliminary results.
- The Let's Go Chile (Chile Vamos) coalition comprised the National Renovation Party (RN, 37 seats), the Independent Democratic Union (UDI, 30) and the Political Evolution Party (EVOPOLI, 6).
- The Force of the Majority (La Fuerza de la Mayoria) coalition comprised the Socialist Party (PS, 19 seats), the Party for Democracy (PPD, 8), the Communist Party (PC, 8) and the Radical Social-Democratic Party (PRSD, 7).
- The Broad Front (Frente Amplio) coalition comprised the Democratic Revolution (RD, 10 seats), the Humanist Party (PH, 4), the Green Ecologist Party (PEV, 1), the Equality Party (IGUALDAD, 1), the Liberal Party (PL, 1) and Citizen Power (PODER, 1).
- The Democratic Convergence (Convergencia Democratica) coalition comprised the Christian Democratic Party (DC, 14 seats) and the Citizen Left Party (0).
- The Green Regionalist Coalition (Coalicion Regionalista Verde) included the Social Green Regionalist Federation (FRVS, 4 seats).
- The For All Chile (Por Todo Chile) coalition included the Progressive Party (PRO, 1 seat).

Sources:
Chamber of Deputies (29.11.2017)
https://www.servel.cl/historico-23-de-mujeres-candidatas-fueron-electas-en-las-parlamentarias-2017/
https://elecciones2017.servel.cl/nuevo-sistema-electoral/
https://elecciones2017.servel.cl/estadisticas/
http://www.diariooficial.interior.gob.cl/publicaciones/2017/12/05/41925/01/1314632.pdf

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