Politics of Colombia

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. 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.

Constitution

Further information: Colombian Constitution of 1991 and Constitutional history of Colombia

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. 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.

Executive branch

Main article: Executive Branch of Colombia

Casa de Nariño, seat of the executive power.

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. Since 2015, the president has been barred from running for reelection, even for a nonconsecutive term.

Legislative branch

Main article: Legislative Branch of Colombia

Congress of Colombia in Bogotá.

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. 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.

Judicial branch

Main article: Judiciary of Colombia

Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia.

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.

Elections

Main article: Elections in Colombia

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. 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. 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.

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.

Recent elections

2022 presidential election

Main article: 2022 Colombian 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	José Luis Esparza	Oxygen Green Party	14,161	0.07
	Luis Pérez Gutiérrez	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 (first round), Registraduria (second round),

2022 parliamentary election

Main article: 2022 Colombian parliamentary election

Senate

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Historic Pact for Colombia	2,880,254	16.95	20
	Colombian Conservative Party	2,238,678	13.18	15
	Colombian Liberal Party	2,112,528	12.43	14
	Hope Center–Green Alliance	1,958,369	11.53	13
	Democratic Center	1,949,905	11.48	13
	Radical Change	1,609,173	9.47	11
	Union Party for the People	1,506,567	8.87	10
	MIRA–Fair and Free Colombia	584,806	3.44	4
	Civic Force	431,166	2.54	0
	New Liberalism	368,345	2.17	0
	We are Ready Colombia	115,120	0.68	0
	SOS Colombia	56,767	0.33	0
	New People Movement	37,063	0.22	0
	National Salvation Movement	31,289	0.18	0
	Commons	25,708	0.15	5
	Metapolitical Unitary Movement	12,165	0.07	0
Presidential election runner-up				1
Blank votes		1,072,401	6.31	–
Total		16,990,304	100.00	106
Valid votes		16,990,304	93.04
Invalid votes		1,270,720	6.96
Total votes		18,261,024	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		38,819,901	47.04
Indigenous seats
	Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement	89,199	30.40	1
	Indigenous Authorities of Colombia	63,373	21.60	1
	Colombian Indigenous Party	28,312	9.65	0
	Environmental Mandate	14,825	5.05	0
	Association of Indigenous Councils for Colombia	13,580	4.63	0
	Campo Alegre Protection	4,749	1.62	0
	National Association of Cabildos and Indigenous Authorities in Colombia	3,757	1.28	0
	Ancestral Socio-Political Organisation	2,052	0.70	0
	Democracia Desde Abajo La Palma	1,580	0.54	0
Blank votes		71,978	24.53	–
Total		293,405	100.00	2
Valid votes		293,405	78.09
Invalid/blank votes		82,303	21.91
Total votes		375,708	100.00
Source:

Chamber of Representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Historic Pact for Colombia	2,922,409	17.62	28
	Colombian Liberal Party	2,335,426	14.08	32
	Colombian Conservative Party	2,068,076	12.47	25
	Democratic Center	1,692,491	10.20	16
	Union Party for the People	1,439,579	8.68	15
	Radical Change	1,319,437	7.95	16
	Green Alliance	1,093,836	6.59	11
	Hope Center Coalition	445,549	2.69	2
	MIRA–Fair and Free Colombia	288,617	1.74	1
	New Liberalism	282,271	1.70	1
	League of Anti-Corruption Governors	172,342	1.04	2
	Historic Pact–Green Alliance	149,218	0.90	2
	Radical Change–Fair and Free Colombia–MIRA	136,622	0.82	1
	Colombian Conservative Party–Union Party for the People	111,497	0.67	1
	Colombian Conservative Party–Democratic Center	99,138	0.60	1
	Radical Change–MIRA	84,704	0.51	1
	Civic Force	71,075	0.43	1
	Colombian Liberal Party–Fair and Free Colombia	68,468	0.41	1
	Colombia Renaissance Party	62,490	0.38	1
	Alternativos (AV–PDA)	60,527	0.36	2
	Union Party for the People–MIRA–Fair and Free Colombia	60,412	0.36	0
	Radical Change–Fair and Free Colombia	58,674	0.35	0
	Independent Movement of Absolute Renovation	56,911	0.34	0
	Gente en Movimiento	54,933	0.33	1
	National Salvation Movement	38,123	0.23	0
	Together for Caldas (ASI–D–NL–MIRA)	36,479	0.22	1
	Radical Change–CJL–MIRA–Union Party for the People	34,743	0.21	0
	MIRA–Democratic Center–Fair and Free Colombia	32,514	0.20	0
	AV–Hope Center Coalition	31,873	0.19	0
	Union Party for the People–MIRA–CJL–ASI	30,022	0.18	0
	Colombian Conservative Party–CJL–MIRA	29,947	0.18	0
	Human Colombia Political Movement	29,845	0.18	0
	Colombian Conservative Party–CJL–MSN	24,162	0.15	0
	Commons	21,423	0.13	5
	MIRA–CJL–MSN	18,165	0.11	0
	Dignity	16,431	0.10	0
	Independent Social Alliance	12,765	0.08	0
	MIRA–Democratic Center	11,688	0.07	0
	Union Party for the People–MIRA–Radical Change	9,549	0.06	0
	Union Party for the People–Fair and Free Colombia	6,612	0.04	1
	The Change is Me Digital Movement	6,234	0.04	0
	Colombian Liberal Party–Independent Social Alliance	4,018	0.02	0
	Force Colombia (Colombia Renaissance Party–ASI)	2,371	0.01	0
	National Salvation Movement–Fair and Free Colombia	1,853	0.01	0
	Indigenous Authorities of Colombia	629	0.00	0
	Fair and Free Colombia	41	0.00	0
Vice-presidential runner-up				1
Blank votes		1,053,480	6.35	–
Total		16,587,669	100.00	169
Valid votes		16,587,669	93.17
Invalid/blank votes		1,215,344	6.83
Total votes		17,803,013	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		38,819,901	45.86
Afro-Colombian seats
	Palenque de la Vereda las Trecientas y del Municipio de Galapa	66,474	14.07	1
	Fernando Ríos Hidalgo	40,049	8.48	1
	CC de la Comunidad Negra Limones	39,924	8.45	0
	CC La Toma	25,602	5.42	0
	CC Manuel Zapata Olivella De San Antero	25,322	5.36	0
	CC Afrozabaletas	20,189	4.27	0
	CC de la Costa Pacífica "Concosta"	12,605	2.67	0
	CC Bocas del Atrato y Leoncito	12,306	2.60	0
	CC la Voz de Los Negros	11,730	2.48	0
	CC de Comunidades Negras De Guayabal	11,081	2.35	0
	Organización Étnica de Comunidades Afros los Palenkes	9,285	1.97	0
	CC Mayor de Casimiro	7,834	1.66	0
	CC Mayor de Certegui	7,654	1.62	0
	CC de Comunidades Negras de Campo Hermoso	6,181	1.31	0
	Partido Colombia Renaciente	6,152	1.30	0
	CC Bocas de Taparal	5,270	1.12	0
	Somos Identidad	5,031	1.06	0
	Movimiento Alianza Democrática Amplia	4,298	0.91	0
	CC Integral de Lloró	4,263	0.90	0
	CC de la Comunidad Negra de Villa Gloria	4,074	0.86	0
	CC Veredas Unidas un Bien Común	4,056	0.86	0
	CC Unión Patía Viejo	4,015	0.85	–
	CC del Río Guajuí	3,963	0.84	0
	Consejo Comunit Piedras Bachichi Correg Santa Cecilia	3,613	0.76	0
	Fundación para el Desarrollo Social de Comunidades Negras	3,356	0.71	0
	Alianza Nacional Afrocolombiana	2,976	0.63	0
	CC de Comunidades Negras Socolando	2,942	0.62	0
	CC Rio Curbaradó	2,681	0.57	0
	Conmoguz	2,456	0.52	0
	CC de Flamenco - Municipio de María La Baja	2,330	0.49	0
	Asoc Afrocol Desplazados Mcpio Guacarí Valle del Cauca "ADAG"	2,322	0.49	0
	CC Alto Paraíso	2,296	0.49	0
	CC Puerto Girón	2,147	0.45	0
	CC Arcilla, Cardón y Tuna	2,113	0.45	0
	Consejo Mayor Condoto Iró	1,923	0.41	0
	CC de Vuelta Manza	1,860	0.39	0
	Consejo Comunit Recuerdo de Nuestros Ancestros Rio Mejicano	1,804	0.38	0
	CC de los Corregimientos de San Antonio y El Castillo Municipio de El Cerrito	1,750	0.37	0
	CC Rescate Las Varas	1,687	0.36	0
	CC del Guabal	1,624	0.34	0
	Corporación Kofi Annan	1,594	0.34	0
	Corporación De Educadores del Litoral Pacifico Corelipa	1,186	0.25	0
	Afromutata	1,087	0.23	0
	Asociación Afrodescendientes de Arboletes	996	0.21	0
	Coacneja	937	0.20	0
	Fundación Social Magende Mi	633	0.13	0
	Odeprivicor	542	0.11	0
	Comunidad de Negros de Aguas Blancas	404	0.09	0
Blank votes		87,809	18.59	–
Total		472,426	100.00	2
Valid votes		472,426	83.86
Invalid/blank votes		90,917	16.14
Total votes		563,343	100.00
Indigenous seat
	Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement	84,637	42.26	1
	Indigenous Authorities of Colombia	27,089	13.52	0
	Colombian Indigenous Party	18,828	9.40	0
	National Association of Cabildos and Indigenous Authorities in Colombia	7,957	3.97	0
	Aywjawashi Indigenous Council	7,870	3.93	0
	Resguardo Indígena Alta y Media Guajira	5,556	2.77	0
	Resguardo Indígena Zenú Del Alto San Jorge	2,900	1.45	0
Blank votes		45,459	22.70	–
Total		200,296	100.00	1
Valid votes		200,296	84.29
Invalid/blank votes		37,338	15.71
Total votes		237,634	100.00
Source:

Political parties

Main article: List of political parties in Colombia

In the Parliamentary election of 2022, the following parties got the minimum required number of votes for legal recognition (3% of valid votes).

Party			Abbr.	Founded	Ideology	Political position	Status in government	Senators	Seats in the House	Governors	Deputies	Mayors	Leader	Affiliation	Alliance
		Democratic Centre Centro Democrático	CD	2013	Uribism Social conservatism Economic liberalism	Right-wing to far-right	Opposition	13 / 108 (12%)	15 / 188 (8%)	3 / 32 (9%)	34 / 418 (8%)	154 / 1,102	Álvaro Uribe	IDU
		Colombian Liberal Party Partido Liberal Colombiano	PLC	1848	Liberalism Social liberalism Social democracy	Centre-left	Coalition	14 / 108 (13%)	32 / 188 (17%)	7 / 32 (22%)	78 / 418 (19%)	181 / 1,102	César Gaviria	SI	—
		Radical Change Cambio Radical	CR	1998	Economic liberalism Conservative liberalism Classical liberalism	Center-right to right-wing	Opposition	11 / 108 (10%)	16 / 188 (9%)	7 / 32 (22%)	64 / 418 (15%)	155 / 1,102	Rodrigo Lara	—
		Social Party of National Unity Partido Social de Unidad Nacional	PSUN	2005	Third way Liberalism Big tent	Centre-left	Independent	14 / 108 (13%)	25 / 172 (15%)	4 / 32 (13%)	74 / 418 (18%)	258 / 1,102	Dilian Francisca Toro	LI	—
		Colombian Conservative Party Partido Conservador Colombiano	PCC	1849	Conservatism Economic liberalism Social conservatism Christian democracy	Right-wing	Independent	15 / 108 (14%)	25 / 188 (13%)	7 / 32 (22%)	65 / 418 (16%)	194 / 1,102	Hernán Andrade	CDI, IDU	—
		Green Alliance Alianza Verde	AV	2009	Green politics Social democracy Progressivism Pacifism	Center-left	Coalition	8 / 108 (7%)	11 / 188 (6%)	3 / 32 (9%)	44 / 418 (11%)	50 / 1,102	Claudia López	GG, FSP		CdE
		Commons Comunes		2017	Marxism–Leninism Bolivarianism Progressivism Anti-capitalism Anti-imperialism	Far-left	Coalition	5 / 108 (5%)	5 / 188 (3%)	0 / 32 (0%)		4 / 1,102	Timoleón Jiménez	FSP		PHxC
		Alternative Democratic Pole Polo Democrático Alternativo	PDA	2005	Protectionism Social democracy Democratic socialism Progressivism	Left-wing	Coalition	5 / 108 (5%)	11 / 188 (6%)	1 / 32 (3%)	8 / 418 (2%)	15 / 1,102	Jorge Robledo Iván Cepeda	SI, FSP		PHxC
		Fair and Free Colombia Colombia Justa Libres	CJL	2017	Christian fundamentalism Christian right Social conservatism Evangelicalism	Right-wing	Independent	3 / 108 (3%)	1 / 172 (0.6%)	2 / 32 (6%)	2 / 418 (0.5%)	14 / 1,102	David Castro	—		NUC
		Independent Movement of Absolute Renovation Movimiento Independiente de Renovación Absoluta	MIRA	2000	Economic liberalism Conservative liberalism Christian right Social conservatism	Center-right to right-wing	Independent	3 / 108 (3%)	1 / 172 (0.6%)	0 / 32 (0%)	8 / 418 (2%)	0 / 1,102	Carlos Guevara	AMI		NUC
		Humane Colombia Colombia Humana	CH	2019	Left-wing populism Progressivism Environmentalism Anti-imperialism Feminism	Center-left to left-wing	Coalition	5 / 108 (5%)	13 / 188 (7%)	1 / 32 (3%)	8 / 418 (2%)	8 / 1,102	Gustavo Petro	GdP		PHxC
		Dignity and Commitment Dignidad y Compromiso		2020	Democratic socialism Social democracy Progressivism Latin American integration Environmentalism	Center-left	Independent	0 / 108 (0%)	1 / 188 (0.5%)	0 / 32 (0%)	2 / 418 (0.5%)	0 / 1,102	Juan Ospina	PA		CdE
		New Liberalism Nuevo Liberalismo		1979	Liberalism Social liberalism	Centre	Independent	0 / 108 (0%)	1 / 188 (0.5%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Juan Manuel Galán	—		CdE
		Patriotic Union Unión Patriótica	UP	1985	Marxism Democratic socialism Bolivarianism Progressivism Left-wing populism Pacifism	Left-wing	Coalition	4 / 108 (4%)	1 / 188 (0.5%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Aída Abella	FSP		PHxC
		Colombian Communist Party Partido Comunista Colombiano	PC	2021	Socialism Communism Marxism–Leninism Anti-imperialism	Left-wing to far-left	Coalition	0 / 108 (0%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Jaime Caycedo	FSP		PHxC
		National Salvation Movement Movimiento de Salvación Nacional	MSN	2021	Conservatism Social conservatism Right-wing populism	Right-wing	Opposition	0 / 108 (0%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Enrique Gómez Martínez
		League of Anti-Corruption Governors Liga de Gobernantes Anticorrupción	LIGA	2022	Anti-corruption Cultural liberalism Protectionism Economic liberalism Catch-all party	Far-right	Opposition	0 / 108 (0%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Rodolfo Hernández
		On Going! En Marcha	EM	2022	Centrism Social liberalism Federalism	Centre to centre-left	Independent	3 / 108 (3%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102		—		CdE
		Citizen Force Fuerza Ciudadana	FC	2022	Social democracy Federalism	Centre-left	Coalition	0 / 108 (0%)	1 / 188 (0.5%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Carlos Caicedo
		The Peace Force La Fuerza De La Paz	FP	2022	Pacifism Pluralism	Center to center-left	Coalition	1 / 108 (0.9%)	1 / 188 (0.5%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Roy Barreras			PHxC
		Independent Independientes		2023	Progressivism	Left-wing	Coalition	1 / 108 (0.9%)	1 / 188 (0.5%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	1 / 1,102				PHxC
		Democratic Hope Esperanza Democrática		2023	Social democracy	Left-wing	Coalition	0 / 108 (0%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102
		New Democratic Force Nueva Fuerza Democrática	NFD	2023	Conservatism	Right-wing	Opposition	0 / 108 (0%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102
		Oxygen Green Party Partido Verde Oxígeno	PVO	1998	Environmentalism Pacifism	Center	Opposition	0 / 108 (0%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Íngrid Betancourt			CdE
		We Are All Colombian Todos Somos Colombia		2023	Pacifism Pluralism Social democracy Left-wing nationalism	Centre-left to left-wing	Coalition	1 / 108 (0.9%)	1 / 188 (0.5%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Clara López			PHxC
		We believe Colombia Creemos Colombia		2023	Conservatism Economic liberalism Social conservatism	Center-right	Opposition	0 / 108 (0%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Federico Gutiérrez
		People on the Move Gente En Movimiento	GEM	2021	Social liberalism	Center	Coalition	0 / 108 (0%)	1 / 188 (0.5%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Mauricio Lizcano
		Worker's Party Partido del Trabajo de Colombia	PTC	1999	Marxism Anti-imperialism New Democracy	Left-wing	Coalition	0 / 108 (0%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Yezid García Abello			PHxC
		I Am Because We Are Soy Porque Somos	SPS	2023	Feminism Environmentalism Indigenismo Progressivism Anti-racism	Left-wing	Coalition	0 / 108 (0%)	1 / 188 (0.5%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Francia Márquez			PHxC
		Popular Power Poder Popular		2023	Social liberalism Social democracy Progressivism	Center-left	Coalition	0 / 108 (0%)	0 / 188 (0%)	0 / 32 (0%)	0 / 418 (0%)	0 / 1,102	Ernesto Samper

Corruption

Main article: Corruption in Colombia

International organization participation

Global

United Nations

• FAO
• IAEA
• ICAO
• ITUC
• IFAD
• ILO
• IMF
• IMO
• IOM
• ITU
• UNASUR
• UNCTAD
• UNESCO
• UNHCR
• UNIDO
• UPU
• WHO
• WIPO
• WMO
• WToO

World Bank

• IDA
• IBRD
• IFC
• MIGA

Other

• G-24
• G-77
• ICC
• ICCt
• ICRM
• IFRCS
• IHO
• Interpol
• IOC
• ISO
• NAM
• OPCW
• PCA
• WCO
• WFTU
• WTO
• OECD

Regional

• BCIE
• CAN
• CDB
• G-3
• IADB
• LAES
• LAIA
• Mercosur (associate)
• OAS
• OPANAL
• RG

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