The Legislative Assembly () forms the unicameral legislative branch of the Costa Rican government. The national congress building is located in the capital city, San José, specifically in Carmen district of the San José canton. The Legislative Assembly is composed of 57 deputies, (), who are elected by direct, universal, popular vote on a closed party list proportional representation basis, by province, for four-year terms. A 1949 constitutional amendment prevents deputies from serving for two successive terms, though a deputy may run for an Assembly seat again after sitting out a term. Currently a proposal to switch to a Mixed-member proportional representation based on the German system is under discussion. Parliamentary fractions The parliamentary fractions in Costa Rica correspond to the representation of the political parties according to the electoral results obtained for each period: Accordingly, the Electoral Code assigns to the political parties the exclusive legitimacy to nominate candidates for deputies, as stipulated in article 74. Deputies The deputies are elected by provinces. The Parliament is made up of fifty-seven deputies, all proprietors. Each time a general population census is carried out, the Supreme Electoral Court of Costa Rica reassigns the number of deputies allocated to each province, in proportion to the population of each one of them. Requirements Deputies are elected for four years in office and cannot be successively reelected. There are only three requirements to qualify for the position: Be a citizen; To be Costa Rican by birth, or by naturalization with ten years of residence in the country after having obtained nationality; Be at least twenty one years old. Impediments Cannot be elected deputies, nor registered as candidates for that function: The President of the Republic or whoever replaces him in the exercise of the Presidency at the time of the election; The Government Ministers; The proprietary Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice; The proprietary and alternate Magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and the director of the Civil Registry; The military on active duty; Those who exercise jurisdiction, civil or police authority, extend to a province; The managers of the autonomous institutions; The relatives of the person who exercises the Presidency of the Republic, up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, inclusive. These incompatibilities affect those who hold the indicated positions within the six months prior to the date of the election. For that reason, when an administration is about to