Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Colombia on 9 December 1990 alongside a referendum on the Assembly itself.Elections and Events 1990-1994
UC San Diego The Assembly sat from February to July 1991 and drew up the 1991 constitution.

Background

After the murder of presidential candidate

Luis Carlos Galán Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento (29 September 1943 – 18 August 1989) was a Colombian liberal politician and journalist who ran for the Presidency of Colombia on two occasions, the first time for the political movement New Liberalism that he f ...

in August 1989, students started a movement calling for a referendum "for peace and democracy" to be held on 21 January 1990.Colombia, 11 March 1990
Direct Democracy However, under pressure from drug cartels, the government rejected the proposal. The students then set up the "We can still save Colombia" movement, which called for a referendum alongside the

general elections 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 ( ...

on 11 March 1990 on establishing a Constitutional Assembly. The referendum saw 2,235,493 voted in favour and 117,000 vote against. Following the unofficial referendum, President

Virgilio Barco Vargas Virgilio Barco Vargas (17 September 1921 – 20 May 1997) was a Colombian politician and civil engineer who served as the 27th President of Colombia serving from 7 August 1986 to 7 August 1990. Early life Barco was born in Cúcuta in the Nort ...

issued decree 927 on 3 May calling a referendum on electing a Constitutional Assembly alongside the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

on 27 May. Although this was in violation of article 218 of

the constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, which gave

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

sole rights to reform the constitution, the referendum was approved by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

.Colombia, 27 May 1990: Election of a Constitutional Assembly
Direct Democracy After 95% of voters approved of the election of the Assembly, elections were set for December. However, new President

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 D ...

chose to reinforce the legitimacy of the Assembly by holding a second referendum on its election. Only those who voted "yes" in the referendum could then cast a vote for the Assembly. The Assembly was 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 ...

in a single nationwide constituency.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p320

Results

Constitutional Assembly

Following the elections, four seats were given to guerrilla groups; two to the

Popular Liberation Army The Popular Liberation Army ( es, Ejército Popular de Liberación, ''EPL'') is a Colombian anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group created in 1967. Most of its former members demobilized in 1991, forming the Esperanza, Paz y Libe ...

, one to the

Movimiento Armado Quintin Lame The Quintin Lame Armed Movement ( es, link=yes, Movimiento Armado Quintin Lame, MAQL) was an indigenous guerrilla group active from 1984 to May 1991 as the participant in the Colombian Armed Conflict. General info Quintin Lame Armed Movemen ...

and one to the Workers Revolutionary Party.Nohlen, p321

Referendum

References

{{Colombian elections Elections in Colombia Referendums in Colombia 1990 in Colombia Colombia Colombia