Politics of Colombia
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Colombia is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multi-party system, where the President of Colombia is both head of state and head of government. The national government has separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches.[1] The legislative power is held by the two chambers of the Congress of Colombia, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, with the four high courts for each jurisdiction of law: the Constitutional Court of Colombia, Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia, Council of State, and Superior Council of Judicature.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Colombia a "flawed democracy" in 2024.[2]
Constitution
The current Colombian Constitution of 1991, enacted on July 5, 1991, strengthened the administration of justice with the provision for introduction of an adversarial system, which entirely replaced the existing Napoleonic Code. Other significant reforms under the new constitution included civil divorce, dual nationality, the office of Vice President of Colombia, and the election of Departmental Governors.[3] Additionally, the constitution expanded citizens' fundamental rights, including the right of "tutela," which allows individuals to request immediate court action if they feel their constitutional rights are being violated and if no other legal recourse is available.[4]
Executive branch
The President of Colombia is elected to a single four-year term. The 1991 constitution reestablished the position of the Vice President of Colombia, who is elected on the same ticket as the president. By law, the vice president will succeed in the event of the president's resignation, illness, or death.[5] Since 2015, the president has been barred from running for reelection, even for a nonconsecutive term.[6][1]
Legislative branch
Colombia's bicameral congress consists of a 108-member senate and a 172-member chamber of representatives. Senators are elected on the basis of a nationwide ballot, while representatives are elected in multi member districts co-located within the 32 national departments. The country's capital is a separate capital district and elects its own representatives.[7] Members may be re-elected indefinitely, and, in contrast to the pre-1991 constitution system, there are no alternate congressmen. Congress meets twice a year, and the president has the power to call it into special session when needed.[8]
Judicial branch
The civilian judiciary is a separate and independent branch of government. Guidelines and the general structure for Colombia's administration of justice are set out in Law 270 of March 7, 1996. After the 1991 Constitution, Colombia's legal system began incorporating elements of an oral, accusatory system. The judicial branch's general structure comprises four distinct jurisdictions: ordinary, administrative, constitutional, and special. Colombia's highest judicial organs are the Supreme Court, the Council of State, the Constitutional Court, and the Superior Judicial Council. Although all the high courts technically oversee separate jurisdictions, the Constitutional Court has a broad spectrum of judicial oversight, often allowing it to rule on issues overseen by different jurisdictions and even weigh in directly on the rulings of other high courts.[9]
Elections
Presidential
Colombian presidents are elected for four-year terms using a two-round system; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff is held between the top two candidates.[10] The vice president is elected on the same ticket as the president. Presidents are limited to a single four-year term, and Article 191 of the constitution requires candidates to be Colombian by birth and at least thirty years old. In line with the constitution, Colombian citizens by birth or by naturalization, aged eighteen or older have the right to vote. Several scenarios can cause the loss of the right to vote, as outlined in the constitution. Citizens in detention centers can vote from the establishments determined by the National Civil Registry. The civil registry inscription is not automatic, and citizens must go to the regional office of the registry to register.[11] Legislative Act No. 2 of 2015 established that the runner-up in the presidential elections is given a seat in the Senate and their vice president candidate becomes a member of the Chamber of Representatives.[12]
In order to be accepted as a candidate, applicants must either have the backing of a recognized political party in order to run as their official candidate, or to collect a minimum number of signatures in order to run as an independent candidate.
Department level
Recent elections
2022 presidential election
| Candidate | Running mate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| Gustavo Petro | Francia Márquez (SPS) | Humane Colombia | 8,542,020 | 40.34 | 11,292,758 | 50.42 | |
| Rodolfo Hernández | Marelen Castillo | Independent | 5,965,531 | 28.17 | 10,604,656 | 47.35 | |
| Federico Gutiérrez | Rodrigo Lara Sánchez | Creemos Colombia | 5,069,526 | 23.94 | |||
| Sergio Fajardo | Luis Gilberto Murillo (CR) | Independent Social Alliance | 885,291 | 4.18 | |||
| John Milton Rodríguez | Sandra de las Lajas Torres | Colombia Justa Libres | 271,386 | 1.28 | |||
| Enrique Gómez Martínez | Carlos Cuartas | National Salvation Movement | 48,643 | 0.23 | |||
| Íngrid Betancourt[a] | José Luis Esparza | Oxygen Green Party | 14,161 | 0.07 | |||
| Luis Pérez Gutiérrez[a] | Ceferino Mosquera | Independent | 11,507 | 0.05 | |||
| Blank votes | 365,777 | 1.73 | 500,069 | 2.23 | |||
| Total | 21,173,842 | 100.00 | 22,397,483 | 100.00 | |||
| Valid votes | 21,173,842 | 98.75 | 22,397,483 | 98.72 | |||
| Invalid votes | 268,458 | 1.25 | 291,551 | 1.28 | |||
| Total votes | 21,442,300 | 100.00 | 22,689,034 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 39,002,239 | 54.98 | 39,002,239 | 58.17 | |||
| Source: Registraduria | |||||||
2026 parliamentary election
Senate
 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Historic Pact | 4,471,238 | 22.95 | 25 | |
| Democratic Centre | 3,072,702 | 15.77 | 17 | |
| Colombian Liberal Party | 2,276,223 | 11.68 | 13 | |
| Alliance for Colombia[b] | 1,905,680 | 9.78 | 10 | |
| Colombian Conservative Party | 1,853,403 | 9.51 | 10 | |
| Party of the U | 1,554,812 | 7.98 | 9 | |
| Radical Change–ALMA Coalition[c] | 1,241,509 | 6.37 | 7 | |
| Colombia Now[d] | 891,907 | 4.58 | 5 | |
| National Salvation Movement | 707,764 | 3.63 | 4 | |
| Frente Amplio Unitario[e] | 396,042 | 2.03 | 0 | |
| Creemos Colombia | 227,957 | 1.17 | 0 | |
| Coalición Fuerza Ciudadana | 114,722 | 0.59 | 0 | |
| Con Toda por Colombia | 105,393 | 0.54 | 0 | |
| Oxygen Party | 27,879 | 0.14 | 0 | |
| Patriots | 10,755 | 0.06 | 0 | |
| Secure and Prosperous Colombia | 10,754 | 0.06 | 0 | |
| Blank votes | 616,998 | 3.17 | – | |
| Total | 19,485,738 | 100.00 | 100 | |
| Valid votes | 19,485,738 | 94.80 | ||
| Invalid votes | 1,069,091 | 5.20 | ||
| Total votes | 20,554,829 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 41,287,084 | 49.79 | ||
| Indigenous seats | ||||
| Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement | 88,294 | 29.05 | 1 | |
| Indigenous Authorities of Colombia | 72,927 | 23.99 | 1 | |
| Unity in Minga Movement for Colombia | 56,060 | 18.44 | 0 | |
| Association of Traditional Indigenous Authorities | 16,628 | 5.47 | 0 | |
| Yes Movement | 3,001 | 0.99 | 0 | |
| Association of Indigenous Councils for Colombia | 2,644 | 0.87 | 0 | |
| National Indigenous Association of Colombia | 2,434 | 0.80 | 0 | |
| Tevis Indigenous Council | 1,413 | 0.46 | 0 | |
| ACMIZSAM | 1,067 | 0.35 | 0 | |
| Trietnico Gobernativo Trigo | 972 | 0.32 | 0 | |
| Blank votes | 58,539 | 19.26 | – | |
| Total | 303,979 | 100.00 | 2 | |
| Valid votes | 303,979 | 74.44 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 104,357 | 25.56 | ||
| Total votes | 408,336 | 100.00 | ||
| Source: RTVC[13] | ||||
Chamber of Representatives
 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Historic Pact | 3,880,148 | 20.63 | 36 | |
| Colombian Liberal Party | 2,103,122 | 11.18 | 25 | |
| Democratic Centre | 2,527,214 | 13.44 | 24 | |
| Colombian Conservative Party | 1,957,004 | 10.41 | 18 | |
| Party of the U | 1,043,537 | 5.55 | 11 | |
| Radical Change | 806,205 | 4.29 | 9 | |
| Green Alliance | 654,197 | 3.48 | 4 | |
| National Salvation Movement | 410,416 | 2.18 | 1 | |
| Democratic Centre–MIRA | 356,437 | 1.90 | 3 | |
| Pr1mero Córdoba (CoR–MIRA) | 340,337 | 1.81 | 2 | |
| Creemos Colombia | 285,637 | 1.52 | 2 | |
| Ahora Colombia (MIRA–NL–D&C) | 263,954 | 1.40 | 1 | |
| Historic Pact–Green Alliance | 213,128 | 1.13 | 4 | |
| Coalición Liberal Colombia Reborn | 145,370 | 0.77 | 1 | |
| La Fuerza | 140,092 | 0.74 | 1 | |
| New Liberalism | 133,652 | 0.71 | 0 | |
| MIRA–Dignity and Commitment | 121,489 | 0.65 | 0 | |
| CR–LAU–MSN–OXI | 118,097 | 0.63 | 1 | |
| Green Alliance–En Marcha | 112,328 | 0.60 | 1 | |
| Colombian Democratic Party | 106,553 | 0.57 | 1 | |
| Pacto Histórico – Frente Amplio (PH–MAIS) | 100,288 | 0.53 | 1 | |
| Avancemos Nariño (Green Alliance–AICO) | 99,820 | 0.53 | 1 | |
| Bogotá entre todos (CR–LIGA–CJL–PUG–PVO–ASI) | 96,155 | 0.51 | 0 | |
| CR–CJL–LIGA de Gobernantes | 96,135 | 0.51 | 1 | |
| Pacto Histórico Sucre Unitarios (PH–MAIS–PTC) | 84,870 | 0.45 | 0 | |
| Coalición Fuerza Ciudadana | 84,861 | 0.45 | 0 | |
| Coalición Demócrata Amplia por la Paz (PDC–LF–ADA) | 84,298 | 0.45 | 1 | |
| Coalición Green Alliance–En Marcha–ASI | 79,449 | 0.42 | 0 | |
| Pacto por Risaralda (PH–MAIS–ED) | 74,621 | 0.40 | 1 | |
| Con Toda por Bogotá | 74,131 | 0.39 | 0 | |
| Coalición Green–En Marcha–La Fuerza | 71,357 | 0.38 | 0 | |
| Party of the U–Radical Change | 70,122 | 0.37 | 1 | |
| Colombian Conservative Party–National Salvation Movement | 64,368 | 0.34 | 1 | |
| Democratic Centre–Colombian Conservative Party | 64,054 | 0.34 | 1 | |
| Independent Social Alliance | 65,315 | 0.35 | 2 | |
| Fuerza Cauca (CoR–MIRA–Green Alliance) | 60,317 | 0.32 | 1 | |
| Party of the U–Partido Ecologista Colombiano | 56,958 | 0.30 | 0 | |
| Democratic Centre–New Liberalism–MIRA | 53,334 | 0.28 | 0 | |
| CR–ASI–CJL | 52,325 | 0.28 | 0 | |
| Party of the U–MIRA–National Salvation Movement–ADA | 51,175 | 0.27 | 0 | |
| Democratic Centre–Party of the U | 49,172 | 0.26 | 1 | |
| Salvation–ALMA (LIGA–CJL–ADA)–Oxygen | 48,046 | 0.26 | 0 | |
| Party of the U–En Marcha | 46,987 | 0.25 | 0 | |
| Motociclistas y Conductores Unidos por la Causa | 45,089 | 0.24 | 0 | |
| Alianza por Nariño (MIRA–LF) | 44,612 | 0.24 | 0 | |
| Ahora Colombia Caldas (MIRA–NL–D&C–CoR) | 43,484 | 0.23 | 0 | |
| SUMA (PUG–Green Alliance–NL–MIRA) | 41,301 | 0.22 | 0 | |
| Radical Change–New Liberalism | 39,756 | 0.21 | 0 | |
| Esperanza Chocó (PC–MAIS) | 36,994 | 0.20 | 0 | |
| ALMA (LIGA–CJL–ADA) | 36,107 | 0.19 | 0 | |
| Avanza (LF–PDC–CoR) | 35,609 | 0.19 | 0 | |
| Broad Unitary Front | 34,885 | 0.19 | 0 | |
| Party of the U–MIRA | 33,627 | 0.18 | 0 | |
| Coalición Caquetá (NL–ASI–Green Alliance) | 33,367 | 0.18 | 1 | |
| Revive Caquetá 20 (CR–MIRA) | 30,284 | 0.16 | 1 | |
| Putumayo También es Colombia | 27,686 | 0.15 | 1 | |
| Dignity and Commitment | 25,472 | 0.14 | 0 | |
| Ciudadanos Renovemos | 23,036 | 0.12 | 0 | |
| La Fuerza–Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement | 22,089 | 0.12 | 0 | |
| Coalición AV–ASI–PUG–PTC | 20,081 | 0.11 | 0 | |
| Putumayo Nos Une | 19,841 | 0.11 | 0 | |
| Colombia Justa Libres | 19,605 | 0.10 | 0 | |
| ALMA (LIGA–CJL) | 19,262 | 0.10 | 0 | |
| Por Risaralda (PC–CoR–ASI) | 16,747 | 0.09 | 0 | |
| Independent Movement of Absolute Renovation | 16,179 | 0.09 | 0 | |
| La Voz del Amazonas (MAIS–CoR) | 12,406 | 0.07 | 1 | |
| League of Anti-Corruption Governors | 8,710 | 0.05 | 0 | |
| Party of the U–MIRA–New Liberalism | 7,957 | 0.04 | 0 | |
| ABC Alianza Bogotá Convergente | 7,943 | 0.04 | 0 | |
| ALMA (LIGA–CJL–ADA)–Radical Change | 7,889 | 0.04 | 0 | |
| Democratic Hope | 7,658 | 0.04 | 0 | |
| Oxygen Party | 7,450 | 0.04 | 0 | |
| Movement of Indigenous Authorities of Colombia | 7,419 | 0.04 | 0 | |
| Frente Amplio del Cesar (AV–EM–PEC) | 6,747 | 0.04 | 0 | |
| Movimiento Agrario Colombiano | 5,303 | 0.03 | 0 | |
| Partido Ecologista Colombiano | 4,520 | 0.02 | 0 | |
| ALMA (LIGA–CJL–ADA)–Oxygen | 4,324 | 0.02 | 0 | |
| Coalición Alianza Córdoba | 3,936 | 0.02 | 0 | |
| Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement | 3,246 | 0.02 | 0 | |
| Pacto Frente Amplio (PDC–ED–EM) | 2,947 | 0.02 | 0 | |
| En Marcha | 2,867 | 0.02 | 0 | |
| MIRA–Dignity and Commitment–Colombian Democratic Party | 2,716 | 0.01 | 0 | |
| Pacto Green Guaviare (AV–PH–MAIS) | 1,976 | 0.01 | 0 | |
| Fuerza Tolima | 1,722 | 0.01 | 0 | |
| Colombia Reborn | 1,511 | 0.01 | 0 | |
| Frente Amplio Risaralda (PEC–LF) | 908 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Pacto Histórico Unitario – Vichada (PH–PTC) | 856 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Workers' Party of Colombia | 719 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Broad Democratic Alliance | 533 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Blank votes | 681,007 | 3.62 | – | |
| Total | 18,805,458 | 100.00 | 161 | |
| Valid votes | 18,805,458 | 94.96 | ||
| Invalid votes | 998,975 | 5.04 | ||
| Total votes | 19,804,433 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 41,287,084 | 47.97 | ||
| Source: Registraduría[14] | ||||
Political parties
In the parliamentary election of 2022, the following parties got the minimum required number of votes for legal recognition (3% of valid votes).
Corruption
International organization participation
Global
Other
Regional
Notes
- 1 2 Withdrew before election but appeared on ballot
- ↑ A coalition of Green Alliance, En Marcha, Colombian Democratic Party, Colombia Renaciente, and Independent Social Alliance
- ↑ A coalition of Radical Change, LIGA, Colombia Justa Libres, and Broad Democratic Alliance
- ↑ A coalition of MIRA, New Liberalism, and Dignity and Compromise
- ↑ A coalition of La Fuerza, Partido Ecologista Colombiano, Democratic Hope, Partido del Trabajo de Colombia, and Movimiento Alternativo Indígena y Social
References
- 1 2 Fuentes, Juan-Andrés. "Research Guides: Colombian Legal Research: Basic Legal Structure". guides.library.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 2024-06-11. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- ↑ Democracy Index 2023: Age of Conflict (PDF). Economist Intelligence Unit (Report). 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
- ↑ Bruce M. Wilson, "Institutional Reform and Rights Revolutions in Latin America: The Cases of Costa Rica and Colombia", Journal of Politics in Latin America, ISSN 1868-4890, archived from the original on 2022-12-06, retrieved 2009-07-30
- ↑ "Judicial Independence and Accountability in Colombia: A Brief Contextual Reflection". UC Berkeley Law. Archived from the original on 2026-03-14. Retrieved 2026-04-04.
- ↑ "Colombia 1991 (rev. 2015) Constitution". Article 202: Constitute Project. Archived from the original on 6 June 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ↑ L, Elizabeth Reyes (4 June 2015). "Colombian lawmakers approve a one-term limit for presidents". EL PAÍS English Edition. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ↑ "Colombia: Sistemas Electorales / Electoral Systems". pdba.georgetown.edu. Archived from the original on 2025-08-16. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
- ↑ "Colombia 1991 (rev. 2013) Constitution - Constitute". www.constituteproject.org. Archived from the original on 2025-10-11. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
- ↑ Botero Marino, Botero Marino; Fernando Jaramillo. "El Conflicto de las Cortes Colombianas en Torno a la Tutela Contra Sentencias" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ↑ Sonneland, Holly K. (28 June 2017). "Explainer: Colombia's 2018 Elections". AS/COA. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
- ↑ Colombia. "¿Cómo funciona el proceso de inscripción de cédulas?". Colombia. Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ↑ Secretaria General del Senado. "Acto Legislativo número 02 de 2015". Secretariasenado.gov.co (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
El candidato que le siga en votos a quien la autoridad electoral declare elegido en el cargo de Presidente y Vicepresidente de la República, Gobernador de Departamento, Alcalde Distrital y Alcalde municipal tendrá el derecho personal a ocupar una curul en el Senado, Cámara de Representantes, Asamblea Departamental, Concejo Distrital y Concejo Municipal, respectivamente, durante el período de la correspondiente corporación.
- ↑ "Resultados elecciones Colombia 2026". RTVC Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ↑ "Elecciones del Congreso de la República 2026". Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2026.
External links
Media related to Politics of Colombia at Wikimedia Commons
- House of Representatives of Colombia
- Senate of Colombia
- Presidency of Colombia
- Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia
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