Chamber of Deputies of Chile
Encyclopedia
The Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Chile is the lower house of Chile
's bicameral
Congress
. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution
.
It comprises 120 deputies
, who are elected to four-year terms, by direct universal suffrage
, from 60 two-member electoral districts
. Deputies must: be aged at least 21; not be disqualified from voting; have finished secondary school
or its equivalent; and have lived in the corresponding electoral district for at least two years prior to the election.
Chile's congressional elections are governed by a unique binomial system that rewards coalition slates. Each coalition can run two candidates for each electoral district's two Chamber seats. Typically, the two largest coalitions in a district divide the seats, one each, among themselves. Only if the leading coalition ticket out-polls the second-place coalition by a margin of more than two-to-one does the winning coalition gain both seats.
The Chamber of Deputies meets in Chile's National Congress
located in the port city of Valparaíso
, some 120 km west of the capital, Santiago. The Congress building in Valparaíso replaced the old National Congress
, located in downtown Santiago, in 1990.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
's bicameral
Bicameralism
In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
Congress
National Congress of Chile
The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile.The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811...
. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution
Constitution of Chile
In its temporary dispositions, the document ordered the transition from the former military government, with Augusto Pinochet as President of the Republic, and the Legislative Power of the Military Junta , to a civil one, with a time frame of eight...
.
It comprises 120 deputies
Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
, who are elected to four-year terms, by direct universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
, from 60 two-member electoral districts
Electoral division of Chile
To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies.-Electoral districts:...
. Deputies must: be aged at least 21; not be disqualified from voting; have finished secondary school
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
or its equivalent; and have lived in the corresponding electoral district for at least two years prior to the election.
Chile's congressional elections are governed by a unique binomial system that rewards coalition slates. Each coalition can run two candidates for each electoral district's two Chamber seats. Typically, the two largest coalitions in a district divide the seats, one each, among themselves. Only if the leading coalition ticket out-polls the second-place coalition by a margin of more than two-to-one does the winning coalition gain both seats.
The Chamber of Deputies meets in Chile's National Congress
National Congress of Chile
The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile.The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811...
located in the port city of Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, some 120 km west of the capital, Santiago. The Congress building in Valparaíso replaced the old National Congress
Ex Congreso Nacional
The Former National Congress Building is the former home of the Chilean Congress. Congress met in this building in central Santiago until Salvador Allende's socialist government was overthrown by Augusto Pinochet's military coup d'état on September 11, 1973.During the Pinochet dictatorship,...
, located in downtown Santiago, in 1990.
Political composition (2010-2014)
Affiliation | Members | % |
---|---|---|
Coalition for Change Coalition for Change The Coalition for Change is a presidential and parliamentary electoral coalition that groups the supporters of President Sebastián Piñera for the 2009-2010 Chilean election... (coalition) |
58 | 48.33 |
Independent Democrat Union Independent Democrat Union The Independent Democrat Union is a Chilean right-wing, conservative political party, founded in 1983. Its main inspirer was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a former senator of the Republic of Chile from 1990 until his assassination on April 1, 1991.Its ideological origins... |
37 | 30.83 |
National Renewal National Renewal (Chile) National Renewal , is a liberal conservative political party belonging to the Chilean right-wing political coalition Coalition for Change in conjunction with the Independent Democratic Union and the Chile First movement... |
18 | 15.00 |
Independent | 2 | 2.50 |
Concertación Coalition of Parties for Democracy The Concert of Parties for Democracy , more often known as the Concertación, is a coalition of center-left political parties in Chile, founded in 1988... (coalition) |
54 | 45.00 |
Christian Democrat Party Christian Democrat Party of Chile The Christian Democratic Party is a political party in Chile and governs as part of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. In the 2009 election it won 19 congress seats and 9 senate seats.... |
19 | 15.83 |
Party for Democracy Party for Democracy The Party for Democracy is a political party in Chile; it is social democratic in its political orientation. It was founded in December 1987 by Ricardo Lagos, who aimed at forming a legal social democratic party . The party continued to function after the defeat of Pinochet... |
18 | 15.00 |
Socialist Party Socialist Party of Chile The Socialist Party of Chile is a political party, that is part of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. Its historical leader was the late President of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens, who was deposed by General Pinochet in 1973... |
11 | 9.17 |
Social Democrat Radical Party Social Democrat Radical Party The Social Democratic Radical Party is a social democratic party in Chile.The party is a member of Socialist International.... |
5 | 4.17 |
Independent | 1 | 0.83 |
Parties not in coalition | 6 | 5.00 |
Communist Party Communist Party of Chile The Communist Party of Chile is a Chilean political party inspired by the thoughts of Karl Marx and Lenin. It was founded in 1922, as the continuation of the Socialist Workers Party, and in 1934 it established its youth wing, the Communist Youth of Chile .In the last legislative elections in Chile... |
3 | 2.50 |
Regionalist Party of the Independent | 3 | 2.50 |
Independent deputies | 2 | 1.67 |
Total | 120 | 100.00 |
Current Chamber of Deputies Composition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Deputies (2006-2010)
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|
- Elected as PARRegionalist Action Party of ChileRegionalist Action Party of Chile , a political party in Chile. Operates in only the regions I, II and III in the northern parts of the country. In the 2004 municipal elections the party presented 13 candidates and got 1,199 votes...
member. She became a PRI member in July 2006, after the fusion of the PAR and ANINational Alliance of IndependentsNational Alliance of Independents is a political party in Chile. It operates in only the regions IX, X and, XII in the southern parts of the country....
parties. She quit the PRI in July 2007. - Elected as PDC, but quit the party in January 2008. Joined the PRI in or prior to July 2009.
- Elected as PDC, but quit the party in January 2008. Joined the PRI later that year.
- Selected by his party as successor to Juan Bustos RamírezJuan BustosJuan Bustos was a Chilean politician, law professor and lawyer. He served as the President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile from March 13, 2008 until his death on August 7, 2008...
, who died during his term. - Elected as PPD, but quit the party in August 2006.
- Elected as Alliance for ChileAlliance for ChileThe Alliance for Chile , also known simply as The Alliance , was a coalition of right-wing Chilean political parties.The Alliance was replaced in 2009 by the Coalition for Change....
independent after he quit RNNational Renewal (Chile)National Renewal , is a liberal conservative political party belonging to the Chilean right-wing political coalition Coalition for Change in conjunction with the Independent Democratic Union and the Chile First movement...
over differences with then presidential candidate Sebastián PiñeraSebastián PiñeraMiguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...
. He returned to the party in November 2008. - Selected by his party to replace Carolina Tohá MoralesCarolina ToháCarolina Montserrat Tohá Morales is a Chilean politician from the Party for Democracy . She is the daughter of the late Socialist politician, Vice President, and minister of Salvador Allende, José Tohá....
, who accepted a position as minister in the executive on March 12, 2009. He was sworn in on March 19, 2009. - Elected as Concertación independent.
- Elected as PPD, but quit the party in January 2007 and joined ChileFirst. In March 2009 he quit ChileFirst, after the party leadership said it was leaning towards supporting Sebastián PiñeraSebastián PiñeraMiguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...
as candidate for President. - Selected by her party to replace the late Pedro Pablo Álvarez-Salamanca Büchi. She was sworn in on October 2, 2008.
- Elected as Concertación independent. Then joined the DC, but quit the party in January 2008. Joined the PRI later that year.
- Elected as PS, but quit the party in June 2009 to run for President as independent.
- Elected as RN, but quit the party in June 2009 amid corruption charges.