Chilean parliamentary election, 2005

← 2001

December 11, 2005

2009 →

All of the 120 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
20 out of 38 seats in the Senate
61 deputies and 20 senators seats needed for a majority

Turnout

87.67

	First party	Second party

Party	Concertación	Alliance
Seats before	62 D / 24 S	57 D / 18 S
Seats after	65 deputies 20 senators	58 deputies 17 senators
Seat change	3 D / 4 S	1 D / 1 S
Popular vote	3,417,207	2,556,386
Percentage	51.76%	38.72%
Swing	3,86%	5,54%

The 2005 Chilean parliamentary election took place on December 11, 2005, in conjunction with the presidential election. All of the 120 seats in the Chamber of Deputies were contested, while 20 out of 38 seats in the Senate were up for election (even-numbered regions and the metropolitan region). Deputies serve for a period of four years, while senators serve for a period of eight years. Reelection is permitted.

According to national legislation, all Chilean citizens may participate in the election (that is, all Chilean nationals over the age of 18 qualified by law to do so), as well as foreign residents with over five years of stay in the country (under certain conditions). In any case, all electors must register first in the Electoral Register if they want to vote. Once registered, voting is mandatory. Over seven million people voted in the election (less than half of the total population).

The Chamber of Deputies prior to this election was composed of 62 CPD deputies (23 Christian Democrats, 20 PPD, ten Socialists, six PRSD and three independents), 57 APC deputies (31 UDI, 18 RN and eight independents) and one independent (off-pact).

The Senate prior to this election was composed of 38 directly elected senators and nine non-elected senators (institutional senators, or senators for life). Among the elected, 20 seats are held by the CPD (eleven Christian Democrats, five Socialists, three PPD and one PRSD) and 18 by the APC (six independents, six UDI and six RN). A constitutional reform in 2005 eliminated non-elected senators starting on March 11, 2006, the day the newly elected senators were sworn in.

Of the Senate seats being contested, eleven were held by the CPD (ten Christian Democrats and one Socialist) and nine by the APC (four independents, three UDI and two RN).

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