Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Congreso / Congress |
Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Cámara de Diputados / Chamber of Deputies |
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Cámara de Senadores / Senate
|
LEGAL FRAMEWORK |
Electoral Law |
1 January 1900 |
Mode of designation |
directly elected 80 |
Constituencies |
18 multi member constituencies corresponding to the country's 17 administrative divisions plus the capital |
Voting system |
Proportional:
Closed party list proportional representation system.
- Each political party or movement presents a list of candidates with as many names as the number of seats to be filled.
- The votes received by each list are divided by one, two, three, four and so on up to the number of seats to be filled. The quotients are ranked from the largest to the smallest. Seats are then allocated to the lists with the highest averages.
- Vacancies arising between general elections are filled by substitues elected at the same time as titular members.
- Voting is not compulsory. |
Voter requirements |
- age: 18 years
- Paraguayan citizenship
- residence in the country
- disqualifications: mental and physical incapacity declared by a court, deaf-mutes who cannot express themselves in writing, detention |
CANDIDATES |
Eligibility |
Qualified electors
- age: 25 years
- Paraguayan citizenship
- ineligibility: conviction depriving of freedom or of right to hold public office, electoral offences |
Incompatibilities |
- magistrates
- Attorney-General and members of his office
- Prosecutor
- owners of the media-related organizations
- Comptroller General and Deputy Comptroller General
- members of the Superior Electoral Court
- members of the clergy
- representatives or agents of enterprises, corporations or bodies which have obtained a concession from the Government to operate a public service
- members of the armed or police forces on active duty
- candidates for President or Vice-President of the Republic |
Candidacy requirements |
- candidature by a registered political party or movement which has the backing of 100 electors |