At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Colombia

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 popular vote 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.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Alvaro URIBE Vélez
  • Party: Colombia First / Primero Colombia
• Carlos GAVIRIA Diaz
  • Party: Alternative Democratic Pole / Polo Democrático Alternativo
• Horacio SERPA Uribe
  • Party: Colombian Liberal Party / Partido Liberal Colombiano
• Antanas MOCKUS Sivickas
  • Party: Indigenous Social Alliance Movement / Movimiento Alianza Social Indígena
• Enrique PAREJO Gonzalez
  • Party: National Democratic Reconstruction Movement / Movimiento Reconstruccion Democratica Nacional
• Alvaro LEYVA Duran******
  • Party: National Reconciliation Movement / Movimiento Nacional de Reconciliación
• Carlos Arturo RINCON Barreto
  • Party: Communal and Communitarian Movement of Colombia / Movimiento Politico Comunal y Comunitario

****** Alvaro LEYVA Duran quit the race on May 14, two weeks before the election.

Last Presidential election:

• The last presidential election was held on May 26, 2002. President Alvaro URIBE Velez received 53.04% of the vote against Horacio SERPA Uribe who obtained 31.72%.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 43,593,035 (July 2006 est.)
• Registered Voters: 26,731,700 (May 2006 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 22,194,544 (2006)

·         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: 14 (House of Representatives); 12 (Senate) (following 2006 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 97 (2014)

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

Disability Data:

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

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

·         Population with a disability: 6,575,361 (est.)