At stake in this election:

• 115 seats in the National Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President KHAMTAY Siphandone
• Head of Government: Prime Minister BOUNNHANG Vorachit
• Assembly: Laos has a unicameral National Assembly with 115 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by the National Assembly to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
• In the National Assembly 115 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.***

*** The total number of seats increased from 109 to 115 for the 2006 election.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP)
  • Leader: Choummaly SAYASONE
  • Seats won in last election: 109

Last Parliamentary election:

• Parliamentary elections were last held on February 24, 2002.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 5,838,837 (2006)
• Registered Voters: 2,826,580 (March 2006)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,952,070 (2006)

·         Is Laos a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Laos ratified CEDAW: Yes (14 August 1981)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 29 (following the 2006 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 141 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Laos a signatory to CRPD: Yes (15 January 2008)

·         Has Laos ratified CRPD: Yes (25 September 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 875,825 (est.)