At stake in this election:

• 230 seats in the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Anibal CAVACO SILVA
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Jose SOCRATES
• Assembly: Portugal has a unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica) with 230 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President to serve a 4-year term.**
• In the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica) 230 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

** The Prime Minister is usually leader of the majority party or coalition in the legislature.

*** There are 22 multi-member districts. Seats are allocated using the d'Hondt method.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Alliance: Socialist Party / Partido Socialista (PS)
  • Leader: José SOCRATES
  • Seats won in last election: 97
• Alliance: Social Democratic Party / Partido Social Democrata (PSD)
  • Leader: Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos COELHO
  • Seats won in last election: 81

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,557,560 (2011)
• Registered Voters: 9,657,312 (January 2011)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,518,047 (2011)

·         Is Portugal a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (24 April 1980)

·         Has Portugal ratified CEDAW: Yes (30 July 1980)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 61 (following the 2011 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 43

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Portugal a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Portugal ratified CRPD: Yes (23 September 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 1,583,634 (est.)