At stake in this election:

• 102 seats in the Senate (Senado)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Alvaro URIBE Velez
• Head of Government: President Alvaro URIBE Velez
• Assembly: Colombia has a bicameral Congress (Congreso) consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 102 seats and the House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes) with 166 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 4-year term.
• In the Senate (Senado) 102 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms*. In the House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes) 166 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.**

* Parties are allowed to choose between closed and open lists. Most lists are open. There is 1 multi-member national constituency with 100 seats and 1 multi-member special national constituency for indigenious (Indian) communities with 2 seats.

** Parties are allowed to choose between closed and open lists. Most lists are open. There are 33 multi-member constituencies (departments), with each department containing at least 2 Representatives. There is an additional representative for every 250,000 inhabitants or for each fraction of more than 125,000 inhabitants that the department has above the first 250,000.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Colombian Liberal Party (PLC) / Partido Liberal Colombiano
  • Leader: Rafael PARDO
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: National Unity Social Party / Party of the U / Partido Social de Unidad Nacional / Partido de «la U»
  • Leader: Juan Manuel SANTOS
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Radical Change / Cambio Radical
  • Leader: German Vargas LLERAS
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Alliance: Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA) / Polo Democrático Alternativo
  • Leader: Jaime DUSSAN
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Citizens' Convergence / Convergencia Ciudadana
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Colombian Conservative Party / Partido Conservador Colombiano
  • Leader: Fernando Araújo PERDOMO
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Democratic Colombia Party / Partido Colombia Demócrata
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Liberal Opening / Movimiento Apertura Liberal
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: National Movement (MN) / Movimiento Nacional
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: United People's Movement / Movimiento Popular Unido (MPU)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: For the Country of our Dreams / Por el País que soñamos (PPS)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Regional Integration Movement / Movimiento Integración Regional (MIR)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Huila New and Liberalism / Huila Nueva y Liberalismo (HNL)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Social Action Party / Partido de Accion Social (PAS)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Renovation Movement Labour Action / Movimiento Renovación Acción Laboral (MRAL)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: National Salvation Movement / Movimiento de Salvación Nacional (MSNI)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: People's Participation Movement / Movimiento de Participación Popular (MPP)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Party: Progressive National Movement / Movimiento Nacional Progresista (MNP)
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0
• Alliance: Indigenous Social Alliance Movement / Movimiento Alianza Social Indígena,
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in last Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 0

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 45,918,101 (2010)
• Registered Voters: 29,853,299 (March 2010 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 23,277,202 (2010)

·         Is Colombia a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Colombia ratified CEDAW: Yes (19 January 1982)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 21 (House of Representatives); 17 (Senate) (following 2010 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 97 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Chile a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Chile ratified CRPD: Yes (10 May 2011)

·         Population with a disability: 6,887,715 (est.)