REPUBLIC OF CHILE

The electorate in a controversial plebiscite ratified Chile's constitution in 1980. It provides for a popularly elected president, who is both Chief of State and Head of Government and serves a term of four years, and a bicameral Congress, with a 46-member Senado (Senate) and a 120-member Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies); eight senators are institutional, appointed by the president and not subject to popular vote.

Administratively, the country consists of fourteen numbered regions, plus the Metropolitan region (Santiago)