Latin America

The following table overviews electoral systems used in Latin America. For each country, there is a link to a separate page that explains the operation of the electoral system or systems for that country.

Numbers after a country’s name indicate the use of more than one electoral system over the period covered here with different systems numbered sequentially. Systems are differentiated according to Arend Lijphart’s criteria of either a change of electoral formula or a shift of at least 20% in the district magnitude at the decisive tier, or the legal threshold, or the legislature’s size.

The years after the country’s name or system number indicate the years in which that system was used. The earliest year may not be the first time that electoral system was used but the earliest for which there is reasonable certainty that it was used.

The classification of each system is most general at the Kingdom level and trends towards more specific as one moves through the Phylum, Class and Order. The classifications reflect broad usage in the electoral systems literature. At the Kingdom level, I utilize only three broad types: majoritarian, proportional, and ni-ni. See my book, Minority Rules, for more information on how I view these types.

Country and System
Kingdom Phylum Class Order
Argentina (1983-) Proportional Single Tier Staggered Multiple Districts d’Hondt
Bolivia 1 (1979-85) Ni-Ni Linked to Presidential Single Tier LR Hare
Bolivia 2 (1989) Ni-Ni Linked to Presidential Single Tier LR Hare (Double Quotient)
Bolivia 3 (1993) Ni-Ni Linked to Presidential Single Tier Sainte-Laguë
Bolivia 4 (1997-2005) Ni-Ni Linked to Presidential Mixed-Superposition Correction SMD + d’Hondt
Bolivia 5 (2009-) Ni-Ni Linked to Presidential Mixed-Superposition Correction SMD + d’Hondt
Brazil (1982-) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts d’Hondt
Chile (1989-) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts d’Hondt
Costa Rica (1962-) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts Largest Remainder Hare
El Salvador 1 (1991-2003) Proportional Two Tier Superposition-Independent LR Hare + LR Hare
El Salvador 2 (2006-9) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts Largest Remainder Hare
El Salvador 3 (2012-) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts Largest Remainder Hare
Guatemala 1 (1985-90) Proportional Single Tier Fusion Multiple Districts d’Hondt
Guatemala 2 (1994-5) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts d’Hondt
Guatemala 3 (1999) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts d’Hondt
Guatemala 4 (2003-) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts d’Hondt
Guyana 1 (1964) Proportional Single-Tier + Nominated One National District Largest Remainder Hare
Honduras 1 (1980-1) Ni-Ni Combined Vote Linked to Presidential, Multiple Districts Largest Remainder Hare
Honduras 2 (1985) Ni-Ni Combined Vote Linked to Presidential, Multiple Districts Largest Remainder Hare
Honduras 3 (1993) Ni-Ni Combined Vote Linked to Presidential, Multiple Districts Largest Remainder Hare
Honduras 4 (1997-2001) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts Largest Remainder Hare
Honduras 5 (2005-) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts Largest Remainder Hare
Nicaragua 1 (1984) Proportional Two Tier Superposition-Remainder Hare + LR Hare
Nicaragua 2 (1984) Proportional Single Tier Multiple Districts LR Hare or LR Hagenbach-Bischoff
Nicaragua 3 (1996) Proportional Three Tier Superposition-Remainder + Independent Hare + LR Hare + LR Hare
Nicaragua 4 (2001-) Proportional Two Tier Coexistence (Superposition-Independent) d’Hondt + d’Hondt
Panama (1994-) Ni-Ni Bonus Seats Coexistence Plurality + Modified LR Hare
Paraguay (1993-) Proportional Single-Tier Multiple Districts d’Hondt
Uruguay 1 (1984-94) Ni-Ni Combined Vote Linked to Presidential, One National District d’Hondt
Uruguay 2 (1999-) Ni-Ni Combined Vote Linked to Presidential, One National District d’Hondt