Colombia

House of Representatives

Political system: Presidential system
Structure of parliament: Bicameral
IPU membership: Yes

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Results

About the election: The 2018 elections were the first to be held since the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed a peace agreement in 2016 which brought an end to 52 years of armed conflict (see note 1).

The parties which criticized the peace agreement fared well in the parliamentary elections but failed to win a majority, two months ahead of the presidential polls. They include the Democratic Centre, led by former President Álvaro Uribe, which became the largest party in the 108-member Senate and the second largest party in the 172-member House of Representatives (see note 2), the Radical Change (CR) and the Conservative Party (CP), Among the supporters of the agreement, the Liberal Party (PL) became the largest party in the House of Representatives but finished fourth in the Senate. Outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos' Social Party of National Unity (Partido de la U) finished fifth in the Senate and fourth in the House of Representatives.

Major electoral issues in 2018 included corruption scandals involving public funds and street crime. The parties which criticized the 2016 agreement pledged to revise it but without repealing it.

Note 1:

The agreement was narrowly rejected by a referendum in October 2016. A revised version of the agreement was approved by the Congress in November that year. Most parties, except for the Democratic Centre, backed the revised agreement. In August 2017, the FARC became a political party named the Revolutionary Alternative Common Force (Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común) and participated in the 2018 elections. However, it failed to win parliamentary representation through direct elections.

Note 2:

Under the 2016 peace agreement, the FARC is entitled to nominate five members in each chamber of the Congress for the next two legislatures. Separately, a new rule grants the presidential runner-up a Senate seat, while his or her running mate will get a seat in the House of Representatives. The new measures will thus bring the total number of senators from 102 to 108, and that of representatives from 166 to 172.
Number of parties winning seats: 15
Percentage of parties winning seats: 20.5%
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition: 21.1%
Alternation of power after elections: Not applicable

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group	Total
Liberal Party (PL)	35
Democratic Centre (CD)	32
Radical Change (CR)	30
Social Party of National Unity (Partido de la U)	25
Conservative Party (CP)	21
Green Alliance	9
Alternative Democratic Pole (POLO)	2
Citizens' Option Party (POC)	2
Coalition List of Decency (Coalición Lista de la Decencia: ASI, UP, MAIS)	2
Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement (MAIS)	2
Community Council of the Play Renaciente Ancestral Black Communities	1
Community Council of Mamuncia (Consejo Comunitario La Mamuncia)	1
A Just Colombia - A Free People! (G.S.C. Colombia Justa Libres)	1
Alternative Santandereana Coalition (Coalición Alternativa Santandereana)	1
Independent Absolute Renovation Movement (MIRA)	1

Members elected, by sex

Number of men elected: 141
Number of women elected: 25

Notes:
The 2016 Peace Agreement guarantees the FARC five seats in each Chamber of Congress for the next two legislatures (2018-2022 and 2022-2026). Moreover, a new rule guarantees the presidential runner-up a seat in the Senate, while his or her running mate is guaranteed a seat in the House of Representatives for the 2018-2022 legislature. With these new measures, the number of senators will increase from 102 to 108, while that of representatives will increase from 166 to 172.

According to preliminary election results available in April 2018, of the 166 members directly elected to the House in the 2018 elections 25 were women. In July, 32 women (including the runner-up’s running mate in the presidential elections) were sworn in to the House of Representatives which was comprised of 171 members and one unfilled seat.
Percentage of women elected: 15.1%
Women Directly Elected: 31
Women in other categories: 1
Sources: IPU Group (03.04.2018)

UN Women (29.03.2019)

Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil, Comunicado de Prensa Nº0119 de 2017

Americas Society / Council of the Americas (8.03.2018)

BBC Monitoring

Report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia (S/2018/279)

New York Times

The Guardian

The Bogota Post

El Espectador

New legislature

Total number of men after the election: 139
Total number of women after the election: 32
Percentage of women after the election: 18.7%
First-term parliamentarians: 120
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians: 70.2%
Date of the first session: 20 Jul 2018

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature: Alejandro Carlos Chacón (Male)
Political party: Liberal Party (PL)
Date of election: 20 Jul 2018

Colombia

House of Representatives

Election results

Background

Candidates

Voter turnout