Congress of the Republic of Guatemala
The Congress of the Republic (Spanish: Congreso de la República) is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Guatemala. The Guatemalan Congress is made up of 160 deputies who are elected by direct universal suffrage to serve four-year terms. The electoral system is closed party list proportional representation. 31 of the deputies are elected on a nationwide list, whilst the remaining 127 deputies are elected in 22 multi-member constituencies. Each of Guatemalas's 22 departments serves as a district, with the exception of the department of Guatemala containing the capital, which on account of its size is divided into two (distrito central and distrito Guatemala). Departments are allocated seats based on their population size and they are shown in the table below.
Congress of the Republic of Guatemala Congreso de la República de Guatemala | |
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Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1945 |
Leadership | |
1st Vice President | |
2nd Vice President | |
3rd Vice President | |
1st Secretary | |
Structure | |
Seats | 160 members |
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Political groups | |
Elections | |
Closed-list proportional representation | |
Last election | 25 June 2023 |
Next election | 2027 |
Meeting place | |
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Guatemala City | |
Website | |
www |
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Deputies by Department
Department | Deputies |
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Listado Nacional | 31 |
Distrito Central | 19 |
Alta Verapaz | 9 |
Baja Verapaz | 2 |
Chimaltenango | 5 |
Chiquimula | 3 |
El Progreso | 1 |
Escuintla | 6 |
Guatemala (Distrito) | 11 |
Huehuetenango | 10 |
Izabal | 3 |
Jalapa | 3 |
Jutiapa | 4 |
Petén | 4 |
Quetzaltenango | 7 |
Quiché | 8 |
Retalhuleu | 3 |
Sacatepéquez | 3 |
San Marcos | 9 |
Santa Rosa | 3 |
Sololá | 3 |
Suchitepéquez | 5 |
Totonicapán | 4 |
Zacapa | 2 |
Total | 160 |
History
Guatemala had a bicameral legislature in the 1845 constitution. It was replaced with unicameral Chamber of Representatives (Spanish: Cámara de Representantes), which was reformulated as National Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional) in 1879, which was replaced by Congress of the Republic in 1945.[1]
Political culture
It is not uncommon for deputies to change parties during the legislature's term or to secede from a party and create a new party or congressional block.
Building
The Congress of the Republic Guatemala is located in the Legislative Palace in Guatemala city.[2]
During the protests against the budget for 2021 on 21 November 2020, protestors entered the building and set parts of it on fire.[3][4][5]
Latest election
![](../I/2019_Guatemalan_legislative_election_-_Results.svg.png.webp)
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Party | National | District | Total seats | +/– | |||||
Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
National Unity of Hope | 717,204 | 17.81 | 7 | 731,015 | 17.43 | 47 | 54 | +26 | |
Vamos | 320,939 | 7.97 | 3 | 331,810 | 7.91 | 13 | 16 | New | |
National Change Union | 218,914 | 5.44 | 2 | 243,757 | 5.81 | 10 | 12 | +6 | |
Semilla | 211,691 | 5.26 | 2 | 215,669 | 5.14 | 5 | 7 | New | |
National Convergence Front | 210,307 | 5.22 | 2 | 227,144 | 5.42 | 6 | 8 | –27 | |
Bienestar Nacional | 194,067 | 4.82 | 2 | 209,206 | 4.99 | 6 | 8 | +8 | |
Vision with Values | 189,467 | 4.70 | 2 | 181,588 | 4.33 | 5 | 7 | +3 | |
Humanist Party of Guatemala | 188,234 | 4.67 | 2 | 186,776 | 4.45 | 4 | 6 | New | |
Valor | 183,814 | 4.56 | 1 | 215,338 | 5.14 | 8 | 9 | New | |
Commitment, Renewal and Order | 177,681 | 4.41 | 1 | 189,654 | 4.52 | 5 | 6 | +1 | |
Todos | 177,182 | 4.40 | 1 | 205,144 | 4.89 | 6 | 7 | –9 | |
Winaq | 141,252 | 3.51 | 1 | 144,314 | 3.44 | 3 | 4 | +3 | |
Citizen Prosperity | 131,694 | 3.27 | 1 | 152,540 | 3.64 | 2 | 3 | New | |
Movement for the Liberation of Peoples | 121,743 | 3.02 | 1 | 123,084 | 2.94 | 0 | 1 | New | |
Unionist Party | 118,337 | 2.94 | 1 | 109,736 | 2.62 | 2 | 3 | +2 | |
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity | 112,037 | 2.78 | 1 | 116,943 | 2.79 | 2 | 3 | +2 | |
National Advancement Party | 110,016 | 2.73 | 1 | 104,900 | 2.50 | 1 | 2 | –1 | |
Victory | 101,418 | 2.52 | 1 | 71,630 | 1.71 | 2 | 3 | +3 | |
Fuerza | 77,862 | 1.93 | 0 | 99,090 | 2.36 | 0 | 0 | –1 | |
Encuentro por Guatemala | 71,668 | 1.78 | 0 | 66,250 | 1.58 | 0 | 0 | –6 | |
Podemos | 67,610 | 1.68 | 0 | 77,756 | 1.85 | 1 | 1 | –11 | |
Convergence | 49,284 | 1.22 | 0 | 51,024 | 1.22 | 0 | 0 | –3 | |
Libre | 48,267 | 1.20 | 0 | 51,518 | 1.23 | 0 | 0 | New | |
Avanza | 31,750 | 0.79 | 0 | 24,735 | 0.59 | 0 | 0 | New | |
Productivity and Work Party | 29,729 | 0.74 | 0 | 30,656 | 0.73 | 0 | 0 | New | |
Unidos | 25,258 | 0.63 | 0 | 32,111 | 0.77 | 0 | 0 | New | |
Total | 4,027,425 | 100.00 | 32 | 4,193,388 | 100.00 | 128 | 160 | 2 | |
Valid votes | 4,027,425 | 79.72 | |||||||
Invalid/blank votes | 1,024,405 | 20.28 | |||||||
Total votes | 5,051,830 | 100.00 | |||||||
Registered voters/turnout | 8,150,221 | 61.98 | |||||||
Source: TSE, TSE, IPU |
Notes
References
- Guatemala. Latin American series ;no. 30. 1947. hdl:2027/hvd.32044058953571.
- "Palacio Legislativo". Congreso de la República. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- Wirtz, Nic; Kitroeff, Natalie (21 November 2021). "Protesters in Guatemala Set Fire to Congress Building Over Spending Cuts". New York Times. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- Pérez D., Sonia (21 November 2020). "Protesters burn part of Guatemala's Congress building". ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- "Protesters set fire to Guatemalan Congress". MSN.com. AFP. 21 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.