General Information
At stake in this election:
- 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados)
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO
- Head of Government: President Fernando Henrique CARDOSO
- Assembly: Brazil has a bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consisting of the Federal Senate (Senado Federal) with 81 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados) with 513 seats.
Description of electoral system:
- The President is elected by simple majority vote to serve a 4-year term.
- In the Federal Senate (Senado Federal) 81 members are elected by simple majority vote to serve 8-year terms*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados) 513 members are elected by proportional representation to serve 4-year terms.
* Elections to the Federal Senate are staggered. In 1994 two-thirds of the Senate (54 seats) was up for election; in 1998 one-third of the Senate (27 seats) was up for election.
Main parties in the electoral race:
- Party: Liberal Front Party (PFL)
- Brazilian Social Democratic Party
- Brazilian Democratic Movement Party
- Workers' Party
- Brazilian Progressive Party
- Democratic Labor Party
- Brazilian Labor Party
Population and number of registered voters:
- Population: 169,806,557 (July 1998 )
- Registered Voters: 106,076,088 ( 1998 )
Gender Data:
· Female Population: 86,212,065 (1998)
· Is Brazil a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (31 March 1981)
· Has Brazil ratified CEDAW: Yes (1 February 1984)
· Gender Quota: Yes
· Female candidates in this election: Yes
· Number of Female Parliamentarians: 29 (Chamber of Deputies); 6 (Federal Senate) (following 1998 elections)
· Human Development Index Position: 75 (2014)
· Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)
Disability Data:
· Is Brazil a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
· Has Brazil ratified CRPD: Yes (1 August 2008)
· Population with a disability: 25,470,983 (est.)