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Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Women in decision-making positions
50%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (1,135 elected women)
No woman is Head of State/Government
46%
Parliamentarians are women
13%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Bolivia is a unitary republic with two spheres of government: central and local.

Bolivia is divided into one tier of central government and two tiers of local government: departments and municipalities.
Central government
  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The President is the Head of State and the Head of Government.
  • Legislative body: The Plurinational Legislative Assembly is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Chamber of Senators) and a lower house (the Chamber of Deputies). Members of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Council of Ministers is composed of the ministers of state who are designated by the President.
Local government
  • Organization: Local government is organized into two tiers, consisting of an upper tier of nine departmental-level local government units and a lower tier of 327 municipalities.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for planning and promoting human development in its jurisdiction, elaborating regional statutes and drafting municipal organic charters, initiating local consultations and referenda on matters within its competence, promoting employment and improvement of working conditions within the framework of national policies, elaborating and executing land registry plans and regulations, creating and administrating local taxes, approving and executing its programs of operation and budget, and promoting and conserving local tangible and intangible patrimony.
  • Ministerial oversight: Vice-ministry of Autonomy within the Ministry of the Presidency

Overview of local government

Local government composition
Departmental-level government (departamentos)

Deliberative body: The departmental assembly (asamblea legislativa departamental) is composed of elected members. An assembly president is elected by and from the departmental assembly to preside over it; the assembly president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The governor (gobernador) is elected as the executive of the departmental level of government.

Municipalities (municipios)

Deliberative body: The municipal council (consejo municipal) is composed of 5-11 elected members. A council president is elected by and from the municipal council to preside over it; the council president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The executive body is composed of an elected mayor (alcalde) and municipal secretaries designated by the mayor.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for local deliberative bodies: mixed (first-past-the-post and proportional representation (closed list) in departments) or proportional representation (closed list) in municipalities

  • For departmental assembly elections, each party makes a list of uninominal and plurinominal candidates. Candidates from the uninominal list are elected first through a simple majority, single-member ward-based vote. Additional candidates from the plurinominal list are then elected at-large through a party-list proportional electoral system with a 3% threshold.
  • For municipal council elections, a party-list proportional electoral system with a 3% threshold is used.

Electoral system for governors/mayors: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post or two-round system)

  •  Governors and mayors are directly elected by voters using a separate ballot from the local deliberative body elections. The governor will be elected by a two-round electoral system. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must gather an absolute majority of votes. If no candidate reaches this threshold, a second round will be held. The candidate which obtains the simple majority of votes is elected.
  • The mayor is elected by a simple majority electoral system.

Source: Electoral Code, 2010 (amended through 2019), articles 64, 65, 71 and 72

Quotas

Gender quotas: Legislated candidate quotas, ranking/placement, sanctions

  • Party lists for deliberative body elections must alternate between listing female and male candidates, successively.
  • For the uninominal candidate lists within departmental assembly elections, at least 50% of the total nominees across all single-member wards must be women.
  • Failure to comply with these quota provisions will result in the rejection of the respective party list, in which case the political organization will be notified, and the list must be amended within 72 hours of this notification.

Additional quotas: Indigenous peoples

  • There are reserved seats for indigenous peoples within the departmental assemblies and municipal councils. Reserved seat members are elected by and from amongst the indigenous peoples, according to their own rules of procedure. Candidate lists for reserved seats must be composed of least 50% women nominees. Failure to comply with these quota provisions will result in the rejection of the respective party list, in which case the political organization will be notified, and the list must be amended within 72 hours of this notification.

Source: Electoral Code, 2010 (amended through 2019), articles 10 and 107

Term of elections
  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: 2021
  • Next local elections: 2026
Electoral management body

Plurinational Electoral Body of Bolivia

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Political Constitution of the Pluri-National State of Bolivia, 2009 (amended through 2013);
  • Law of Municipal Autonomous Governments, 2014 (amended through 2015)
  • Framework Law on Autonomy and Decentralization, 2010 (amended through 2019);
  • Law of the Electoral Regime, 2010 (amended through 2019).
Constitutional provisions on local government

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Bolivia. According to Articles 269, 270, and 272 of the Political Constitution of the Pluri-National State of Bolivia of 2009 (amended through 2013), “Bolivia is organized territorially into departments, provinces, municipalities and rural native indigenous territories. The principles that govern territorial organization and the decentralized and autonomous territorial entities are: unity, voluntariness, solidarity, equity, the common good, self government, equality, complementariness, reciprocity, gender equity, subsidiarity, gradualness, coordination and institutional faithfulness, transparency, public participation and control, provision of economic resources and the pre-existence of the nations and rural native indigenous peoples, under the terms established in this Constitution. Autonomy implies the direct election of the authorities by the citizens, the administration of its economic resources, and the exercise of legislative, regulatory, fiscal and executive authority by the organs of the autonomous government in the area of its jurisdiction, competence and authority.”

Legislative provisions on local government

The Pluri-National Legislative Assembly is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation that regulate local government are the Law of Municipal Autonomous Governments of 2014 (amended through 2015) and the Framework Law on Autonomy and Decentralization of 2010 (amended through 2019), which establish the organizational structure and operation of local government in Bolivia.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.