A referendum on anti-corruption measures was held in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

on 26 August 2018. Voters were asked whether they approve of seven proposals aimed at reducing corruption: limiting the number of terms for politicians at all levels to three; requiring election candidates disclose their assets and those of their relatives; elected politicians being required to disclose their activities and private interests; a requirement for public hearings on budgets; a requirement for all public sector contracts to go out to tender; the removal of the right to

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

for people convicted of corruption; and reducing the maximum salary of public officials and politicians from forty times the minimum wage to twenty-five times. In order for the results to be legally binding, voter turnout was required to be at least one-third of registered voters (12.1 million). However, only 11.7 million voters (32%) cast ballots.

Background

The referendum was the result of a campaign called ''Consulta Popular Anticorrupción'' by senators

Claudia López Hernández Claudia may refer to: People Ancient Romans *Any woman from the Roman Claudia gens * Claudia (vestal), a Vestal Virgin who protected her father Appius Claudius Pulcher in 143 BC * Claudia Augusta (63–63 AD), infant daughter of Nero by his secon ...

and

Angélica Lozano Correa ''Angelica'' is a genus of herbs, especially the cultivated species ''Angelica archangelica'' Angelica or Angélica may also refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''Angelica'' (1939 film), a French-Italian film * ''Angélica'' (1952 fi ...

of the

Green Alliance Green Alliance may refer to: *Green Alliance (think tank), a British think tank *Green Alliance (Colombia), a political party *Green Alliance (Ireland), former name of the Green Party in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland *Green Alliance ( ...

party. Under the constitution, a referendum can be called if 5% of registered voters sign a petition in favour. Between 24 January and 26 July 2017 a total of 4,236,682 signatures were collected, with 3,092,238 recognised as valid by the National Civil Registry, above the 5% threshold (1,762,083). The

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

approved the referendum on 5 June 2018 by a vote of 84–0, with President

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by training and a journalist by trade, S ...

signing decree 1028/2018 on 18 June for the holding of the referendum.

Campaign

Many politicians supported "Yes" in the referendum, and a parody music video in the style of

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

was widely shared on the country's social media before the vote, using clips of these politicians. The President,

Iván Duque Iván Duque Márquez (; born 1 August 1976) is a Colombian politician and lawyer who served as the president of Colombia from 2018 to 2022. He was elected as the candidate from the Democratic Centre Party in the 2018 Colombian presidential ...

, supported the referendum, though his mentor Alvaro Uribe did not, saying he would prefer to discuss anti-corruption measures in Congress. At the time of the referendum, Uribe was one of several Colombian politicians under investigation for alleged corruption. Additionally, six of the seven proposals had previously been introduced in Congress, and had all been voted down. On August 9, 2018, Duque introduced several packets to Congress, including three which covered areas of the vote. The Democratic Centre party, of which the President is a representative, did not actively campaign for votes before the referendum.

Results

Of the 11.7 million votes cast, 99% supported the amendments. However, the referendum came 470,000 votes short of the required 12.1 million votes, resulting in the vote being disqualified due to not reaching

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

References

{{Colombian elections, state=collapsed

Anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measur ...

Referendums in Colombia