Chamber of Representatives of Colombia

According to the Colombian Constitution, the Chamber of Representatives, currently composed of 166 representatives serving four-year terms, is elected in territorial constituencies, special constituencies and an international constituency.

The departments (and the capital district of Bogotá D.C.) each form territorial electoral constituencies (circunscripciones territoriales). Each constituency has at least two members, and one more for every 365,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 182,500 over and above the initial 365,000. For the legislative term 2014-2018, 161 of the Chamber's 166 members were elected in territorial constituencies.

There are also three special constituencies, electing the remaining five members: one for Indigenous communities currently with one representative, one for Afro-Colombian communities (negritudes) currently with two representatives and one for Colombian citizens resident abroad currently with one representative. As a result of the 2015 constitutional reform, the number of seats allocated to Colombian citizens resident abroad was reduced to one, from 2018 onward, as an additional special seat will be created for the territorial constituency of Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina to represent the archipelago's Raizal community.[1]

Since 2014, the assignment of additional seats is based on the corresponding proportional increase of the national population in accordance with census results. If as a result of the above a territorial constituency should lose one or more seats, it keeps the number of seats to which it was entitled to on July 20, 2002.[2]

For elections to the Chamber, political parties or other movements and groups run single lists, with a number of candidates not exceeding the total number of seats to be filled, although in constituencies with only two seats, party lists may include a third name. The current threshold for parties to win seats in a territorial constituency is 50% of the electoral quotient (total votes divided by total seats) in constituencies returning more than two members, and 30% of the electoral quotient in constituencies returning two members. Seats are then distributed using the distributing number, or cifra repartidora. This number is obtained by successively dividing the number of votes received by each list by one, two, three and so forth, and placing the results in descending order until the total number of results equal to the number of seats to be filled. The lowest resulting number is called the distributing number (cifra repartidora). Each list shall obtain the number of seats that corresponds to the number of times the distributing number is contained in the total number of its votes.[3][2]

Parties may run a closed list, with the order of candidates pre-determined, or opt for preferential voting (open list), where the position of candidates on the list is reordered based on the individual preference votes of the voters. In congressional elections, voters choosing a party running a closed list only vote for the party list; voters who choose a party running an open list may indicate their candidate of preference among the names displayed on the ballot, if the voter does not indicate a preference and only votes for the party, the vote is valid for purposes of the threshold but not for reordering the list based on preferential votes.

Current seat distribution

Territorial and special constituencies

Constituency	Number of seats (2014–2018)[4]
Amazonas	2
Antioquia	17
Arauca	2
Atlántico	7
Bogotá	18
Bolívar	6
Boyacá	6
Caldas	5
Caquetá	2
Casanare	2
Cauca	4
Cesar	4
Chocó	2
Córdoba	5
Cundinamarca	7
Guainía	2
Guaviare	2
Huila	4
La Guajira	2
Magdalena	5
Meta	3
Nariño	5
Norte de Santander	5
Putumayo	2
Quindío	3
Risaralda	4
San Andrés and Providencia	2
Santander	7
Sucre	3
Tolima	6
Valle del Cauca	13
Vaupés	2
Vichada	2
Afro-Colombians	2
Colombian citizens abroad	2
Indigenous communities	1
Total seats	166

To be a representative, a person must be a Colombian citizen (by birth or naturalization) over the age of 25 at the time of the election.

There are general rules of ineligibility and incompatibility which apply to both houses of Congress, explained here. In addition, general rules on the replacement and non-replacement of members depending on different circumstances also apply to both houses of Congress.

1. Elect the Ombudsman.
2. Examine and finalize the general budgetary and treasury account presented to it by the Comptroller General.
3. Bring charges to the Senate, at the request of the investigation and accusation commission, for the impeachment of the President (or whoever replaces them) and members of the Comisión de Aforados.
4. Take cognizance of complaints and grievances presented by the Attorney General or by individuals against the aforementioned officials and, if valid, to bring charges on that basis before the Senate.
5. Request the aid of other authorities to pursue the investigations.

The most recent parliamentary election in Colombia took place on 13 March 2022. For elections before that, see the below table:

• Constitutional history of Colombia
• List of presidents of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia

• Official website

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