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The politics of Colombia take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Colombia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is carried out by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Colombia. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Colombia a "flawed democracy" in 2022.^[1][2]

Constitutional reforms

Colombia's present constitution, enacted on July 5, 1991, strengthened the administration of justice with the provision for introduction of an adversarial system which ultimately is to entirely replace the existing Napoleonic Code. Other significant reforms^[3] under the new constitution provide for civil divorce, dual nationality, the election of a vice president, and the election of departmental governors. The constitution expanded citizens' basic rights, including that of "tutela," under which an immediate court action can be requested by individuals feeling that their constitutional rights are being violated and if there is no other legal recourse.

The national government has separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Executive branch

The president is elected for a single four-year term. Between 2005 and 2015, the president could be re-elected for a second term. The 1991 constitution reestablished the position of vice president, who is elected on the same ticket as the president. By law, the vice president will succeed in the event of the president's resignation, illness, or death.

Since 2015, the president is barred from running for reelection, even for a nonconsecutive term.^[4]

Legislative branch

Colombia's bicameral Congress consists of a 108-member Senate of Colombia and a 172-member Chamber of Representatives of Colombia. Senators are elected on the basis of a nationwide ballot, while representatives are elected in multi member districts co-located within the 32 national departments. The country's capital is a separate capital district and elects its own representatives. Members may be re-elected indefinitely, and, in contrast to the previous system, there are no alternate congressmen. Congress meets twice a year, and the president has the power to call it into special session when needed.

Political parties and elections

2018 Presidential election

Party			Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic Center		Iván Duque	4,044,509	67.76%
	Independent		Marta Lucía Ramírez	1,538,882	25.78%
	La Patria de Pie		Alejandro Ordóñez	385,110	6.45%
Source: Semana

Duque won the nomination, and following his victory, he selected the runner-up, Ramírez, to be the alliance's vice presidential nominee.^[5]

2018 Legislative Election

Senate

((#section-h:2018 Colombian par

Chamber of Representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Colombian Liberal Party	2,447,298	16.53	35
	Democratic Center	2,380,290	16.08	32
	Radical Change	2,141,108	14.47	30
	Social Party of National Unity	1,824,570	12.33	25
	Colombian Conservative Party	1,802,894	12.18	21
	Green Alliance	880,354	5.95	9
	Independent Movement of Absolute Renovation	576,998	3.90	1
	Alternative Democratic Pole	438,283	2.96	2
	Citizen Option	307,478	2.08	2
	List of Decency Coalition (ASI–UP–MAIS)	260,712	1.76	2
	Fair and Free Colombia	191,109	1.29	1
	AV–PDA	173,706	1.17	0
	Partido Somos	159,967	1.08	0
	Independent Social Alliance Movement	109,258	0.74	0
	Alternative Santandereana Coalition (AV–PDA–ASI)	70,502	0.48	1
	List of Decency Coalition (UP–MAIS)	48,318	0.33	0
	Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement	43,776	0.30	1
	Patriotic Union	42,114	0.28	0
	Common Alternative Revolutionary Force	33,951	0.23	5
	AV–PDA–UP	17,732	0.12	0
	Todos Somos Colombia	16,271	0.11	0
	Indigenous Authorities of Colombia	11,082	0.07	0
	ASI–AV–UP	4,902	0.03	0
	Regional Integration Movement	3,123	0.02	0
Vice-presidential runner-up				1
Vacant[a]				1
Blank votes		815,502	5.51	–
Total		14,801,298	100.00	169
Valid votes		14,801,298	86.95
Invalid votes		2,222,411	13.05
Total votes		17,023,709	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		36,025,318	47.25
Afro-Colombian seats
	C.C. Ancestral De Comunidades Negras Playa Renaciente	32,243	8.12	1
	Consejo Comunitario La Mamuncia	25,428	6.40	1
	C.C. De La Comunidad Negra De La Plata Bahía Málaga	17,477	4.40	0
	Consejo Comunitario Del Rio Yurumangui	14,048	3.54	0
	C.C. De Comun. Negras Palenque Vda. Las Trescientas Y Mun. Galapa	13,122	3.30	0
	Consejo Comunitario Mayor De Certegui	11,340	2.86	0
	Consejo Comunitario De Alejandro Duran Diaz	8,604	2.17	0
	Todos Somos Colombia	7,578	1.91	0
	Corporación Poder Ciudadano	7,048	1.78	0
	Consejo Comunitario Renacer Negro	6,414	1.62	0
	Consejo Comunitario Bocas Del Atrato Y Leoncito	4,219	1.06	0
	Consejo Comunitario Ma Kankamana De San Basilio De Palenque	4,179	1.05	0
	C.C. De La Comunidad Negra De La Calle Larga Rio Dagua	3,539	0.89	0
	C.C. De Los Corregimientos De San Antonio Y El Castillo	3,437	0.87	0
	Consejo Comunitario Los Andes	3,391	0.85	0
	C. C. De La Comun. Negra De Tierra Baja Mi Territorio Ancestral	3,325	0.84	0
	Consejo Comunitario Veredas Unidas Un Bien Común	3,201	0.81	0
	Consejo Comunitario Imbilpi Del Carmen	2,711	0.68	0
	Consejo Comunitario De La Comunidad Negra De Limones	2,618	0.66	0
	Consejo Comunitario Tablon Salado	2,225	0.56	0
	Fund. Afrocolombiana Liberal De Desarrollo Social (Afrocodes)	2,162	0.54	0
	Kusuto Magende Cokumalu De Luruaco	2,136	0.54	0
	Consejo Comunitario De Las Baras	1,989	0.50	0
	Consejo Comunitario De Comunidades Negras Obatala	1,766	0.44	0
	Cuenca Del Rio Iscuande	1,667	0.42	0
	Org. Social De Comunidades Negras "Nelson Mandela"	1,619	0.41	0
	Consejo Comunitario De Comunidades Negras Santo Domingo	1,505	0.38	0
	C.C. General Del Río Baudó Y Sus Afluentes "Acaba"	1,428	0.36	0
Blank votes		206,635	52.04	–
Total		397,054	100.00	2
Indigenous seat
	Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement	99,182	25.68	1
	Indigenous Authorities of Colombia	45,358	11.75	0
	ANICOL	4,409	1.14	0
	UAIZSACOR	4,156	1.08	0
	Taita Zipa Foundation	2,610	0.68	0
	Casiyouren Traditional Authority	1,946	0.50	0
Blank votes		228,488	59.17	–
Total		386,149	100.00	1
Source: MOE, MOE

Judicial branch

The civilian judiciary is a separate and independent branch of government. Guidelines and the general structure for Colombia's administration of justice are set out in Law 270 of March 7, 1996. Colombia's legal system has recently begun to incorporate some elements of an oral, accusatory system. The judicial branch's general structure is composed of four distinct jurisdictions (ordinary, administrative, constitutional, and special). Colombia's highest judicial organs are the Supreme Court, the Council of State, the Constitutional Court, and the Superior Judicial Council. Although all the high courts technically oversee separate jurisdictions, the Constitutional Court has a broad spectrum of judicial oversight which often allows it to rule on issues overseen by different jurisdictions and even weigh in directly in the rulings of other high courts.^[6]

International organization participation

Global

United Nations

World Bank

Other

Regional