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At a glance

Structure of Parliament: Unicameral

Are there legislated quotas...

  • No for the Single/Lower House?
  • No at the Sub-national level?

Are there voluntary quotas...

  • Yes adopted by political parties?

Guatemala

(Republic of Guatemala)

Single/Lower house

Congreso de la República / Congress of the Republic

Total seats:158
Total women:19
% women: 12%
Election year:2007
Electoral system:List PR
Quota type: Voluntary Political Party Quotas
Election details: IDEA Voter Turnout
IPU Parline

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Last updated 2009-09-14

Voluntary Political Party Quotas*

PartyAcronymOfficial NameDetails, Quota provisions
National Unity for Hope Party UNE Unidad Nacional de Esperanza UNE has a 40 percent quota for women on electoral lists since 2007 (López Robles 2008, p. 15).
Guatemalan Revolutionary Unity URNG Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca At least 30 percent of each sex should be represented on electoral lists (2002; López Robles 2008, p. 14).

* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. In case of legislated quotas, only political parties that have quotas beyond the national quota legislation are presented in this table.

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Last updated 2009-11-30

Additional information

In 1997 the Women's Civic and Political Alliance and the National Office on Women proposed a quota for candidates for elected posts - maximum of 44 percent for either sex - but the Electoral Reform Commission argued that the proposal was discriminatory.

In 1998 a Bill was introduced in Congress proposing a system of quotas to increase women's political participation to 44 percent of all party lists at both the municipal and national levels. The bill left room for negotiation, setting 30 percent as the minimum acceptable percentage. Although the bill mustered more support than expected, its passage required a two-thirds majority, which it did not achieve.
Last updated 2009-10-16

Sources

  • López Robles, Claudia V. (2008), "Mujeres y participación en los partidos políticos: entre instituciones débiles y exclusión por género", in Del dicho al hecho: manual de buenas practicas para la participación de mujeres en los partidos políticos latinoamericanos, Beatriz Llanos & Kristen Sample (eds.), Stockholm: International IDEA

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