# Binomial electoral system abolished (April 2015)

URL: https://allhistories.com/chile/timeline/2015-binomial-electoral-system-abolished
Location: Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan
Themes: Politics

President Bachelet promulgates the electoral reform that replaces the binomial system, inherited from the dictatorship, with a more proportional system based on the D'Hondt method. The reform enlarges the Chamber of Deputies to 155 seats and the Senate to 50, and introduces gender quotas for candidate lists. The new system first applies in the 2017 elections.

## Why it matters
Ending the binomial system opened Congress to new parties and broke the two-bloc structure that had dominated politics since 1990.

Ruler at the Time: [Michelle Bachelet (2014–2018)](https://allhistories.com/chile/rulers/michelle-bachelet-2014-2018)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Binomial voting system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binomial_voting_system)
- [Wikipedia — Michelle Bachelet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Bachelet)
- [Wikipedia — Democracy (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_transition_to_democracy)