Article Outline
Executive power is vested in a president and vice president, elected by direct popular vote of married people over the age of 18 and single people over 21. A 1995 constitutional amendment extended the presidential term from four years to five. Neither the president nor the vice president can be reelected to an immediate succeeding term. The president appoints the cabinet. Among other presidential powers is the right to rule by decree.
The Bolivian congress is bicameral, composed of a senate of 27 members (3 from each department) and a chamber of deputies of 130 members. All are elected for four-year terms. The constitution approved in 2009 also guarantees representation of indigenous people.
The principal political parties are the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), and the Movement for Socialism (MAS).
The republic is divided into nine major political divisions, called departments: Santa Cruz, El Beni, Tarija, Potosí, La Paz, Chuquisaca, Pando, Cochabamba, and Oruro. These departments are administered by prefects appointed by the president. Each department is divided into provinces, administered by subprefects appointed by the president. Important cities and towns have popularly elected councils.
Justice is administered by the Supreme Court, which is composed of 12 members, elected by the congress to ten-year terms, and by district and local courts. Military training for one year is universal and selective. In 2006 the combined strength of the armed forces was 46,100.
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