The Chamber of Senators ( es, Cámara de Senadores) is the
upper house
An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...
of the
Plurinational Legislative Assembly
The Plurinational Legislative Assembly ( es, Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional) is the national legislature of Bolivia, placed in La Paz, the country's seat of government.
The assembly is bicameral, consisting of a lower house (the Chambe ...
of
Bolivia. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in the
Political Constitution of the State and others determined by
Bolivian laws. The Senate is the legislative body of the country, where each Senator represents the interests of their
Departments. The session room is located in the Legislative Palace building in
Plaza Murillo
The Plaza Murillo is the central plaza of the city of La Paz and the open space most connected to the political life of Bolivia. Prominent buildings on the plaza include the Presidential Palace, National Congress of Bolivia, and the Cathedral of L ...
.
The Senate has 36 seats. Each of the country's nine
departments returns four
senators elected by
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
(using the
D'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest ...
).
(From 1985 to 2009, the Senate had 27 seats: three seats per department: two from the party or formula that receives the most votes, with the third senator representing the second-placed party.) Senators are elected from party lists to serve five-year terms, and the minimum age to hold a Senate seat is 35 years.
The Senate was established in the 1831, disestablished later, and re-established in 1878.
Before the adoption of the new Constitution of 2009, this chamber was called ''National Senate'' ( es, Senado Nacional).
References
{{reflist
National upper houses
Government of Bolivia
1831 establishments in Bolivia
1878 establishments in Bolivia