Plurinational Legislative Assembly

The Plurinational Legislative Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional) is the national legislature of Bolivia, based in the nation's de facto capital, La Paz.

The assembly is bicameral, consisting of a lower house (the Chamber of Deputies or Cámara de Diputados) and an upper house (the Senate, or Cámara de Senadores).

The Senate has 36 seats. Each of the country's nine departments returns four senators elected by proportional representation (D'Hondt) (Until 2009 the Senate had 27 seats: three seats per department: two from the party or formula that receives the most votes, with the third senator representing the second-placed party.) Senators are elected from party lists to serve five-year terms, and the minimum age to hold a Senate seat is 35 years.

The Chamber of Deputies comprises 130 seats: 77 deputies are elected to represent single-member electoral districts, and an additional 53 are elected by proportional representation from party lists on a departmental basis. Deputies also serve five-year terms, and must be aged at least 25 on the day of the election. For the 2005 general election, seats were reapportioned, making 70 single-member electoral districts (60 are elected by proportional representation).

The legislative body used to be known as the National Congress (Spanish: Congreso Nacional).

Read more about Plurinational Legislative Assembly:  2010–2015 Congress, Buildings

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