Parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

s were held in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

on 13 March 2022.

Electoral system

Of the 166 members of the House of Representatives, 162 were elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

from 33 multi-member constituencies based on the

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, with seats allocated using the

largest remainder method The largest remainder method (also known as Hare–Niemeyer method, Hamilton method or as Vinton's method) is one way of allocating seats proportionally for representative assemblies with party list voting systems. It contrasts with variou ...

. Two members were elected by the Afro-Colombian community, one by Indigenous community, and one by Colombian expatriates. The 102 Senators were elected by two methods; 100 from a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation (with seats allocated using the largest remainder) and two from a two-seat constituency for Indigenous Colombians.

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

, the political successor of the former rebel group

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

, were guaranteed five seats in the House and five in the Senate as part of the

Colombian peace process The Colombian peace process is the peace process between the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) to bring an end to the Colombian conflict, which eventually led to t ...

. For the first time, 16 seats in the House, as agreed to during the negotiations in Havana and ratified by an act of legislation on 25 August 2021, were reserved for victims of the

Colombian conflict The Colombian conflict ( es, link=no, Conflicto armado interno de Colombia) began on May 27, 1964, and is a low-intensity asymmetric war between the government of Colombia, far-right paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and far-left guerr ...

. Citizens from 167 municipalities affected by the conflict were eligible for voting in the special victims constituency.

Results

Senate

Chamber of Representatives

Aftermath

Following the electoral triumph of

Gustavo Petro Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian economist, politician, and former guerrilla fighter who is the current president of Colombia since 2022. After taking office, Petro was considered by analysts as Colombia ...

in the

2022 Colombian presidential election Presidential elections will be held in Colombia on 29 May 2022. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a second round of voting will be held on 19 June. Incumbent President Iván Duque is ineligible for a second term. Electoral system ...

, Petro's coalition Historic Pact allied with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. The Liberal leader,

César Gaviria César Augusto Gaviria Trujillo ( ; born 31 March 1947) is a Colombian economist and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 to 2004 and National Di ...

, assured that the alliance would "allow the president-elect to overcome a political hurdle", which would provide the Historic Pact with less difficulty in advancing their agenda. The

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

expressed no interest in being an opposition bloc with the party caucus ultimately voting to support the Historic Pact. The decision caused tension within the party as many opposed the move and led to party leader Omar Yepes' resignation. The

Party of the U The Union Party for the People ( es, Partido de la Unión por la Gente), or Party of the U ( es, Partido de la U), is a liberal political party in Colombia. The Party is led by former president Juan Manuel Santos. It was formerly Colombia's la ...

also declared they would not serve as an opposition bloc and contemplated whether to join the government or remain neutral. Meanwhile, the party of outgoing president Iván Duque, the Democratic Center, said they would be in the opposition. The Party of the U announced on 19 July that it would join the governing coalition. The elected senators and members of the Chamber of Representatives were sworn in on 20 July 2022.

References

{{Colombian elections