At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of Colombia

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Juan Manuel SANTOS Calderon
• Head of Government: President Juan Manuel SANTOS Calderon
• 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. Presidents are limited to two four-year terms.

Election Note:

• If no candidate receives a majority of votes on 25 May, a runoff between the two top candidates will be held on 15 June.

Main candidates in this presidential election:

• Juan Manuel SANTOS Calderón
  • Alliance: National Unity / Unidad Nacional[1]
  • Vice-Presidential running mate: German VARGAS LLERAS[2]
• Óscar Iván ZULUAGA
  • Party: Democratic Center / Centro Democrático[3]
  • Vice-Presidential running mate: Carlos Holmes TRUJILLO
• Marta Lucía RAMÍREZ
  • Party: Colombian Conservative Party / Partido Conservador Colombiano
  • Vice-Presidential running mate: Camilo GÓMEZ
• Clara LÓPEZ Obregón
  • Party: Alternative Democratic Pole / Polo Democrático Alternativo (PDA)
  • Vice-Presidential running mate: Aída ABELLA[4]
• Enrique PEÑALOSA
  • Alliance: Green Alliance / Alianza Verde[5]
  • Vice-Presidential running mate: Isabel SEGOVÍA

Last election:

• The last presidential election in Colombia was held on 30 May and 20 June 2010. In the first round, President Juan Manuel SANTOS Calderón received 46.68 percent of the vote, below the 50 percent threshold to win the election outright. He therefore faced Aurelijus Antanas MOCKUS Sivickas of the Green Party, the runner-up candidate with 21.51 percent of votes, in a runoff on 20 June. In the second round, SANTOS received 69.06 percent to MOCKUS’s 27.53 percent and was declared the winner. Full results can be found here and here.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 47,791,393 (2014)
• Registered Voters: 32,835,856 (2014)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 24,255,888 (2014)

·         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: 33 (House of Representatives); 23 (Senate) (following 2014 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: 7,168,708 (est.)