Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica

Legislative Assembly
Asamblea Legislativa de la Republica de Costa Rica
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Antonio Álvares Desanti (PLN)
Structure
Seats 57
Political groups
  •      PLN (18)
  •      PAC (13)
  •      FA (9)
  •      PUSC (8)
  •      PML (4)
  •      Others (5)
Elections
Last election
 Februery 2, 2014
Meeting place
San Jose, Costa Rica
Website
http://www.asamblea.go.cr/
Costa Rica
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The Legislative Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Legislativa) is the unicameral legislative branch of the government of Costa Rica. The national congress building is located in the city capital, San José, specifically in El Carmen District in San José Canton.

Composition

The Legislative Assembly is composed of 57 deputies (diputados), who are elected by direct, universal, popular vote on a proportional representation basis, by provinces, for four-year terms. A 1949 constitutional amendment prevents deputies from serving for two successive terms; however, a deputy may run again for an Assembly seat after sitting out a term.

Directory

Following the 2014 legislative election, the Citizens' Action Party was able to form an alliance with Broad Front and the Social Christian Unity Party. The three parties together amounted to thirty seats, thus giving them control of the legislature.[1] The alliance broke a year later, with PAC only receiving the support of Broad Front and PUSC joinning an opposition-lead alliance headed by PLN that gave PUSC the presidency of Congress.[2] This was the first time that historical rivals PLN and PUSC join together in Parliament. The following year PLN's candidate was endorsed by the oppositional alliance whilst PAC and FA voted by their respective ballots.[2]

Parties in Legislative Assembly, 2014-2018

Political Parties in, 2014-2018
Party Flag Party Name (English) Party Name (Spanish) Abbrev. Seats Percentage of Assembly
 National Liberation Party Partido Liberación Nacional PLN 18 31.5%
 Citizens' Action Party Partido Acción Ciudadana PAC 13 22.6%
 Broad Front Frente Amplio FA 9 15.7%
 Social Christian Unity Party Partido Unidad Social Cristiana PUSC 8 14.0%
 Libertarian Movement Partido Movimiento Libertario PML 4 7.0%
 Costa Rican Renovation Party Partido Renovación Costarricense PRC 2 3.5%
 National Restoration Party Partido Restauración Nacional PRN 1 1.7%
 Accessibility without Exclusion Partido Accesibilidad sin Exclusión PASE 1 1.7%
 Christian Democratic Alliance Alianza Demócrata Cristiana ADC 1 1.7%

2010 legislative election

Elections were last held on February 2010. The former composition of the National Assembly is as follows:

Premises

The Assembly meets in the Edificio Central ("Central Building") located in the city centre of San José. Work began on this building in 1937, with the plan of having it serve as the new presidential palace. Since much of the building materials were imported from Germany and Czechoslovakia, however, the onset of the Second World War put a halt to the project. Work did not recommence until 1957, but by 1958 the legislature was installed and operating in its new premises.

Central American Parliament

Costa Rica is the only Spanish-speaking Central American country not to return deputies to the supranational Central American Parliament.

See also

References

  1. ↑ La Nacion, "30 diputados eligieron al economista Henry Mora, del PAC, comon presidente legislativo," May 1, 2014
  2. 1 2 "Opposition parties maintain control over Legislative Assembly". Tico Times. May 1, 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.

External links

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