The First Commission of the Senate approved in the first debate the political reform bill, whichIt includes a series of new regulations to update the Colombian electoral system.
One of the new and most controversial articles that was approved is the one that implements the compulsory vote in Colombia for two periods as a pilot, an idea that had been tried to promote in the past and that had received little reception in the Congress of the Republic.
The president of the Senate, Roy Barreras, explained that “half of Colombians today do not vote for various reasons, but there is a Persian market for buying and selling votes, to that 50% of compatriots who do not sell the vote because they do not vote, We ask that you come to vote freely for two periods to help us clean up democracy in closed lists where you will vote for parties and ideas.”
The same way, the possibility that congressmen could be ministers was given free rein without having to resign a year before to be able to assume a position in the Executive.
The political transfuguismo, so that the legislators can change their political party without receiving sanctions for double militancy, was also approved in the first debate, despite the fact that some political leaders They were against that possibility. However, this measure will only apply from 2026.
The article that took away the powers of the Attorney General’s Office to investigate was dropped and punish officials elected by popular vote, that is, mayors, governors and congressmen themselves.
There will be closed lists for elections to public corporations and the communities will have to implement internal democracy mechanisms to put together the lists of candidates for the Congress of the Republic, Assemblies or Municipal Councils.
The financing of political campaigns will be preponderantly state, which means that there will be very little movement of private money during the electoral processes.
Finally, an article was approved that eliminates the indefinite reelection of congressmen. Senators and representatives to the Chamber may not spend more than two terms in each of these corporations.
