Election type

Colombia, Constitution  (1991, as amended in 2015), accessed 28 March 2022

ARTICLE 171. The Senate of the Republic shall be composed of one hundred members elected in one nationwide constituency. […] Colombian citizens who happen to be or reside abroad may vote in elections for the Senate of the Republic. […]

ARTICLE 176. The House of Representatives shall be elected in territorial and special constituencies.

Each department and the Capital District of Bogotá will form part of a territorial constituency. There will be two representatives for each territorial constituency and an additional one for each 365,000 inhabitants or a fraction greater than 182,500 over the first 365,000. The territorial constituency formed by the department of San Andres, Providencia, and Santa Catalina will elect an additional (1) representative for the Raizal community of the said department, according to the law.

For the election of representatives to the House, each department and the Capital District of Bogotá shall constitute a territorial constituency.

The special constituencies will guarantee the participation of ethnic groups and Colombians that reside abroad in the House of Representatives. Through these constituencies, there will be the election of four (4) representatives distributed as follows: two (2) for the constituency of the Afro-descendant communities, one (1) for the constituency of the indigenous communities, and one (1) for the international constituency. In this last constituency, only those votes deposited outside of the national territory by citizens that reside abroad will be counted.

Voting from Abroad: The International IDEA Handbook

“Although this was not expressly contemplated in the electoral legislation, in November 1990 Colombian residents abroad were called on to participate in the election of members of a Constituent National Assembly, which prepared a new text of the constitution. Article 171 of the new constitution (1991) established that not only Colombian permanent residents abroad, but also those who were temporarily out of the country could vote. It also allowed residents abroad to vote in elections to the Senate, which took place for the first time in 1994.

Article 176 of the constitution also created a special electoral district in the Chamber of Representatives in order to ensure the participation of ethnic groups, political minorities and Colombians resident abroad. However, this did not come into effect until 2001, when Law no. 649 established that the special electoral district would have a total of five seats, one of which would be for a representative of Colombians residing abroad, two for black communities, one for indigenous communities and one for political minorities. This provision was first applied in 2002.”

Colombia, Código Electoral (last updated on 03/26/2022), accessed 28 March 2022

ARTÍCULO 116. Los ciudadanos también podrán sufragar en el exterior para Presidente de la República, en las Embajadas, Consulados y demás locales que para el efecto habilite el Gobierno, previa inscripción de la cédula de ciudadanía o pasaporte vigente, hecha ante la respectiva Embajada o Consulado, a más tardar quince (15) días antes de las elecciones. De las listas de inscritos se sacarán tres (3) ejemplares: uno para el archivo de la Embajada o Consulado, otro para la mesa de votación y otro que se fijará en lugar público inmediato a dicha mesa.

El funcionario diplomático o consular de mayor categoría designará como jurados de votación a ciudadanos colombianos residentes en el lugar, a razón de dos (2) principales y dos (2) suplentes, pertenecientes a partidos políticos que tengan representación en el Congreso de Colombia y en forma tal que no existan jurados homogéneos políticamente.

Una vez cerrada la votación, hechos los escrutinios de cada mesa y firmadas las actas, los jurados harán entrega de éstas y demás documentos que sirvieron para las votaciones al funcionario correspondiente que inmediatamente los enviar , en sobre debidamente cerrado y sellado, al Consejo Nacional Electoral, para que sean tenidos en cuenta en el escrutinio general.

For voting from abroad in 2018 Parliamentary Elections explore this page. https://wsr.registraduria.gov.co/Este-lunes-5-de-marzo-inician.html