1.
Juan Manuel Santos
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Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, GColIH is the 32nd and current President of Colombia and sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. He was a cadet at the Navy Academy in Cartagena, in 1981, he was appointed deputy director of El Tiempo newspaper, becoming its director two years later. Santos earned a mid-career/masters in public administration in 1981 from Harvard Kennedy School and was a 1988 Nieman Fellow for his work as a columnist. Santos was a Fulbright visiting fellow at Fletcher at Tufts University in 1981, Santos worked in expanding international trade with Colombia, and worked in creating various agencies for this purpose including, Proexport, Bancoldex and Fiducoldex. In 2000, he was appointed by President Andrés Pastrana Arango as the 64th Minister of Finance, Santos rose to prominence during the Administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Santos also created the Good Government Foundation, the Colombian government and the FARC signed a revised peace deal on November 24 and sent it to Congress for ratification instead of conducting a second referendum. Both houses of Congress ratified the peace accord on November 29–30,2016. Santos was born in Bogotá, Colombia, after leaving the Navy, Santos moved to the United States where he attended the University of Kansas. A member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, he graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor in Economics, after graduating from the University of Kansas, Santos served as Chief Executive of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia to the International Coffee Organization in London. During this time he attended the London School of Economics. He then attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and he returned to Colombia to become Deputy Director of his family owned newspaper El Tiempo. Santos was president of the Freedom of Expression Commission for the Inter American Press Association, in 1992 he was appointed President of the VIII United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. In 1994 Juan Manuel Santos founded the Good Government Foundation, whose stated objective is helping and improving the governability and this organization presented a proposal for a demilitarized zone and peace talks with the FARC guerrilla group. Santos also founded the Social National Unity Party to support the presidency of Álvaro Uribe and he was named Minister of Defence on 19 July 2006. On 4 November 2008, Santos admitted that the military had carried out extrajudicial executions, the Commander of the Colombian National Army, General Mario Montoya, resigned. By May 2009,67 soldiers had found guilty and over 400 were arrested pending trial. There are different estimates for the number of civilians who may have killed in this manner. As of May 2009, prosecutors were investigating more than 900 cases involving over 1,500 victims and 1,177 members of the Colombian security forces
2.
Official residence
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An official residence is the residence at which a nations head of state, head of government, governor or other senior figure officially resides. It may or may not be the location where the individual conducts work-related functions or lives. This has occurred in the 21st century in Detroit and New York City, in the case of Denver, no mayor has ever lived in the official residence, the city instead makes it available to certain non-profit groups for special functions. The President uses own private residence, - Its address is 1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located next to Gyeongbokgung, the palace during the Joseon Dynasty. Cheong Nam Dae - Cheong Nam Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. It was returned to public in 2003, - It is located in Cheongwon-gun, North Chungcheong Province. Cheong Hae Dae - Cheong Hae Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. Although the president no longer uses this facility this compound is still under the administration of the Republic of Korea Navy, - It is located on one of the islands of Geoje-shi, South Gyeongsang Province. Chongri Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Prime Minister of Republic of Korea. The Prime Minister, however, does not work here, - Its address is 111-2 Samcheongdong-gil, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located close to Cheong Wa Dae, gukhoeuijang Gonggwan - This is the official residence for the Speaker of the National Assembly of Republic of Korea. The Speaker, also, does not work here, - It is located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where many foreign missions to Korea are located. Daebeobwonjang Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Chief Justice of Republic of Korea. The Chief Justice, also, does not work here, - It is also located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Most ministers of state and heads of administrative regions also have official residences, although they are not listed here. S
3.
Term of office
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A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years
4.
Vice President of Colombia
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The Vice President cannot assume Presidential functions on temporary absences of the President such as official trips abroad or vacations. In these cases, the President delegates functions to a cabinet member, oscar Naranjo is the current Vice President. The vice president must be a citizen of Colombia, at least 30 years of age. The Colombian Constitution of 1991 requires the president to meet the same eligibility requirements as the president that can be re-elected. It is also eligible for an number of terms as vice president. The Vice President has the period of functions that the President of Colombia. The Vice President can also be authorized by the President special missions or designate him in any position of the Colombian Executive branch of Power, every President has defined the Vice Presidents functions within their government. Advise the President on the execution of policies and politics regarding Human Rights, collaborate with the Colombian governments management of international and national activities regarding Human Rights and corruption. Plan mechanisms to harmonize agreements between the different levels of the government in Colombia on issues regarding Human Rights and corruption. Represent Colombia internationally as ordered by the President, by determination of the President, the Vice President will support and advise the President on other issues. Other functions will be addressed according to the needs of the President
5.
Colombia
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Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a transcontinental country largely situated in the northwest of South America, with territories in Central America. Colombia shares a border to the northwest with Panama, to the east with Venezuela and Brazil and to the south with Ecuador and it shares its maritime limits with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is a unitary, constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments, the territory of what is now Colombia was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples including the Muisca, the Quimbaya and the Tairona. The Spanish arrived in 1499 and initiated a period of conquest and colonization ultimately creating the Viceroyalty of New Granada, independence from Spain was won in 1819, but by 1830 the Gran Colombia Federation was dissolved. What is now Colombia and Panama emerged as the Republic of New Granada, the new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation, and then the United States of Colombia, before the Republic of Colombia was finally declared in 1886. Since the 1960s the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict, Colombia is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world, and thereby possesses a rich cultural heritage. Cultural diversity has also influenced by Colombias varied geography. The urban centres are located in the highlands of the Andes mountains. Colombian territory also encompasses Amazon rainforest, tropical grassland and both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, ecologically, it is one of the worlds 17 megadiverse countries, and the most densely biodiverse of these per square kilometer. Colombia is a power and a regional actor with the fourth-largest economy in Latin America, is part of the CIVETS group of six leading emerging markets and is an accessing member to the OECD. Colombia has an economy with macroeconomic stability and favorable growth prospects in the long run. The name Colombia is derived from the last name of Christopher Columbus and it was conceived by the Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to all the New World, but especially to those portions under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name was adopted by the Republic of Colombia of 1819. When Venezuela, Ecuador and Cundinamarca came to exist as independent states, New Granada officially changed its name in 1858 to the Granadine Confederation. In 1863 the name was changed, this time to United States of Colombia. To refer to country, the Colombian government uses the terms Colombia. Owing to its location, the present territory of Colombia was a corridor of early human migration from Mesoamerica, the oldest archaeological finds are from the Pubenza and El Totumo sites in the Magdalena Valley 100 km southwest of Bogotá. These sites date from the Paleoindian period, at Puerto Hormiga and other sites, traces from the Archaic Period have been found
6.
Politics of Colombia
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Executive power is carried out by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Colombia, the Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Other significant reforms under the new constitution provide for divorce, dual nationality, the election of a vice president. The national government has executive, legislative, and judicial branches, The president is elected for a four-year term and, since 2005. The 1991 constitution reestablished the position of president, who is elected on the same ticket as the president. By law, the president will succeed in the event of the presidents resignation, illness. Colombias bicameral Congress consists of a 102-member Senate of Colombia and a 161-member Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, senators are elected on the basis of a nationwide ballot, while representatives are elected in multi member districts co-located within the 32 national departments. The countrys capital is a capital district and elects its own representatives. Members may be re-elected indefinitely, and, in contrast to the previous system, Congress meets twice a year, and the president has the power to call it into special session when needed. The civilian judiciary is a separate and independent branch of government, guidelines and the general structure for Colombias administration of justice are set out in Law 270 of March 7,1996. Colombias legal system has begun to incorporate some elements of an oral, accusatorial system. The judicial branchs general structure is composed of four distinct jurisdictions, Colombias highest judicial organs include the Supreme Court, the State Council, the Constitutional Court, and the Superior Judicial Council. This sometimes leads to conflicting opinions since there is no one court which clearly has authority over the decisions of the other three
7.
Colombian Constitution of 1991
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The Constitution of Colombia, better known as the Constitution of 1991, is the current governing document of the Republic of Colombia. Promulgated on July 4,1991, it replaced the Constitution of 1886 and it is Colombias ninth constitution since 1830. See a timeline of all constitutions and amendments here. It has recently called the Constitution of Rights. After an agitated constitutional period in the 19th century, in 1886 Colombia adopted one of the oldest constitutions in Latin America. Nevertheless, after a century in force, the Constitution of 1886 was in need of modifications in order to adapt it to the changing social, economic. In the late 1980s, Colombia was facing a period of unprecedented violence, the conflict now involved new guerrilla movements, paramilitary groups and violent drug cartels. In 1990, two presidential candidates were assassinated - Bernardo Jaramillo of the Patriotic Union was killed March 22,1990. The organizers original objective was to express their rejection of indiscriminate violence, one of the factors which made constitutional change difficult was that the 1886 Constitution could only be amended by the Congress. Article 218 of the Constitution of 1886, as it stood in 1990, stated that the Constitution could only be amended by a law passed by Congress, si el Gobierno no publicare oportunamente el proyecto de Acto Legislativo, lo hará el Presidente del Congreso. If the Government does not promptly publish the draft legislative act, the constitutional reforms which, among other things, set-up the National Front, were approved by a national plebiscite in 1957. However, the approved by voters in the 1957 plebiscite reiterated that any future constitutional amendments could only be passed by Congress in the manner prescribed by article 218. Article 13 of the Legislative Decree 0247 of 1957 read, ARTICULO13, en adelante las reformas constitucionales sólo podrán hacerse por el Congreso, en la forma establecida por el artículo 218 de la Constitución. On May 5,1978, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled the project unconstitutional, in its verdict, the court argued that Congress power to amend the constitution under article 218 was an exclusive power which it could not delegate. In December 1979, Congress approved President Julio César Turbays constitutional reform initiative, the reform made substantial changes to the administration of justice, public prosecutions and the process of judicial review by the Supreme Court. In 1986, Liberal candidate Virgilio Barco was elected to the presidency on a platform of national reconciliation, the president hoped that a plebiscite would give legitimacy to the repeal of this article. However, Barco was forced to shelve the idea because of the lack of consensus around his proposal. The process was halted by the Council of States ruling on April 4,1988
8.
Constitutional history of Colombia
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The constitutional history of Colombia is the process of formation and evolution of the different constitutions that Colombia has had since its formation. The indigenous nations that inhabited the present territory of Colombia did not have written records and these were replaced by the New Laws of Indies of 1542. The Monarchy of Spain tried to enforce laws but revolts by Spaniards that benefited from oppressing the natives forced Charles V. At present, the version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights forms the core of the political constitutions of many countries. The Constitution of Canada, for example, is short and is limited almost exclusively to human rights. The first written constitution as such with jurisdiction in Colombia was the Spanish Constitution of 1808, the Spanish Constitution of 1812 also had theoretical jurisdiction during the Reconquista of Spanish America until Independence in 1819. During colonial times, the Catholic Church was the most powerful institution after the Monarchy of Spain, the Church had control over the press, education, literacy and access to professions. It was the authority in matters of public and private morality. During the fight for independence, and after, the Church was losing its influence, in particular, the federalists wanted to create a constitution without clerical influence, whereas the centralists leaned towards the Church not only to preserve the faith but as a political body. The minimum geographic area able to send members to the congresses were the parishes, in larger urban areas there could be several parishes. It commissioned Camilo Torres Tenorio to draft the document known in Colombian history by the name Memorandum of Offenses, for reasons that are unknown, the Cabildo did not accept this document. Jose Maria Cárdenas, descendant of Camilo Torres, commented that the Cabildo was intimidated when shown the representation project, on July 20,1810, Colombia declared independence from Spain. The Memorandum of Offences was kept unpublished until 1832 and it shows the attitudes that Criollos had towards assuming a role in the government within the domains of Ferdinand VII of Spain. Some were royalists and others favored independence, the document demanded the same level of representation for Criollos in the American provinces as that of residents born in Spain. From 1809 to 1830 eight different provinces produced their own independent constitutions so there was not a single unified constitution in the country of Colombia, the Constitution of the Free State of Socorro in 1810 was the first of these. It was simultaneously federalist, democratic, liberal and catholic, Socorro was the capital of the province of Santander at the time, where 30 years before the second Revolt of the Comuneros took place. After the Colombian Declaration of Independence, the Junta of August 20,1810 was created, jose Miguel Pey de Andrade was appointed head of the Meeting, which makes him the first Chief of State. The Constituent Electoral College of the State of Cundinamarca can be considered the first Constituent National Assembly, the document was inspired by the United States Constitution
9.
Congress of Colombia
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The Congress of the Republic of Colombia is the name given to Colombias bicameral national legislature. The Congress of Colombia consists of the 102-seat Senate, and the 166-seat House of Representatives, members of both houses are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The composition, organization and powers of Congress and the procedure are established by the fourth title of the Colombian Constitution. According to article 114 of the Constitution, the Congress amends the constitution, makes the law and exercises control over the government. In addition, the Constitution and the law grant other powers to Congress, including certain judicial powers and electing senior judges, both houses of Congress meet at the neoclassical Capitolio Nacional building in central Bogotá, the construction of which began in 1847 and was not concluded until 1926. Every house has its own election procedure and individual powers distinguishing them from the other, each house has its own eligibility requirements established by the Constitution, but there are common rules of ineligibility and incompatibility, determined by the Constitution. In addition, relatives through marriage or kinship who are registered candidates for the party for an office elected on the same day may not be members of Congress. The constitution also bans election to or membership in more than one office or body, the Council of State rules on the loss of mandate within twenty days of the request made by a citizen or the executive committee of the appropriate house. Members of Congress enjoy immunity for their opinions and the votes that they cast in the exercise of their office, for crimes committed during their term, only the Supreme Court of Justice may order the arrest and try them. Permanent absences include death, physical incapacity, nullification of the election, justified and accepted resignation, disciplinary sanctions, temporary absences include maternity leave and temporary deprivation of liberty from crimes other than those signalled in the paragraph below. These rules not only apply to Congress, but to all other elected bodies - departmental assemblies, municipal councils. These provisions were strengthened by the 2015 constitutional reform, which added fraudulent wrongdoings against public administration as a crime not resulting in replacement, to summon and require ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of administrative departments to attend sessions. In cases the officials fail to attend without an excuse deemed reasonable by the house, propose censure motions against ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of administrative departments for matters related to their official duties or for ignoring the summons of Congress. A censure motion must be tabled by at least a tenth of the members of the house. Approval of the motion requires a majority, and, if successful. If unsuccessful, no new motion on the matter may be proposed unless it is supported by new facts. The decision of a house is binding on the other. Commissions of either house may also summon any natural or juridical person to testify during a session on matters directly related to investigations pursued by the committee
10.
Senate of Colombia
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The Senate of the Republic of Colombia is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the House of Representatives. The Senate has 102 members elected for concurrent four-year terms, according to the Colombian Constitution,100 senators are elected from a single national constituency. The remaining two are elected in a national constituency for Indigenous communities. Colombian citizens living outside the country are eligible to vote, although, unlike in the lower house, the current electoral system, adopted in 2003 and modified in 2009 and 2015, requires party lists to pass a 3% threshold in order to obtain representation. For the 2006 and 2010 elections, the threshold was set at 2%, for the two seats reserved to Indigenous communities, the electoral quota system is used, with the threshold in this case being 30% of the electoral quota. To be a senator, a person must be a natural-born Colombian citizen over the age of 30 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 houses of Congress. Approve or reject the resignations of the President and the Vice President, approve or reject all military promotions conferred by the government on commissioned officers. Grant leaves of absence for the President in cases other than sickness, allow for the transit of foreign troops through Colombian territory. Authorize the Government to declare war on a foreign nation, the Congress judicial powers are divided between the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate determines the validity of the charges concerning actions or omissions that occurred in the exercise of these duties. The Senate may assign the preliminary investigation to a group of its members, in the trials to be conducted before the Senate, the accused is automatically suspended from his/her office once the charges brought have been admitted. The accused, however, is brought to trial before the Supreme Court of Justice, if the evidence demonstrates the individual to be responsible for an infraction deserving of other penalties
11.
House of Representatives (Colombia)
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The House of Representatives is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia. The House of Representatives has 166 members elected for four-year terms, each department form territorial electoral constituencies. Each constituency has at least two members, and one more for every 365,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 182,500 over, for the current legislative term,161 of the Houses 166 members are elected in territorial constituencies. Since 2014, the assignment of 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, seats are then distributed using the distributing number, or cifra repartidora. The lowest resulting number is called the distributing number, 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. To be a representative, a person must be a Colombian citizen 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 houses of Congress. Examine and finalize the general budgetary and treasury account presented to it by the Comptroller General, bring charges to the Senate, at the request of the investigation and accusation commission, for the impeachment of the President and members of the Comisión de Aforados. Take cognizance of complaints and grievances presented by the Attorney General or by individuals against the officials and, if valid. Request the aid of other authorities to pursue the investigations, the Houses accusation commission had been very criticized over the years, said to grant immunity to any senior official accused of corruption or wrongdoing. Between 1992 and 2014, the commission received a total of 3,496 complaints, of which 56% were closed. No case resulted in impeachment, and in only one case ever made its way to the floor of the House. The governments constitutional reform in 2015 stripped the accusations commission of most of its power, the eligibility, ineligibility and incompatibility rules for the commission will be the same as for members of the Supreme Court of Justice. The House decision can be appealed to the Senate, which holds the final word, the new commission will be formed after a transitional period of one year, during which the accusations commission retains its original responsibilities. Colombian parliamentary election,2014 Colombian parliamentary election,2010 Constitutional history of Colombia List of Presidents of the House of Representatives good
12.
Council of Ministers of the Republic of Colombia
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The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Colombia is composed of the most senior appointed politicians of the executive branch of the Government of Colombia. Members of the Cabinet are generally the heads of a Ministry Department, the existence of the Cabinet dates back to the first President Simon Bolivar. These members were appointed in order to advise the President and are required to assist him in his duties as stated by the Colombian Constitution. The Cabinet of President Juan Manuel Santos, the Secretary of Trade disappeared, its assignments were transferred to the Vice Ministry of Development, under the control of the Minister of Finance. 1990s 1991 - The Ministry of Foreign Trade is created,1992 - The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is renamed Ministry of Transport. 1993 - The Ministry of Justice is renamed Ministry of Justice,1993 - The Ministry of Environment is created. 1996 - The Ministry of Government is renamed the Ministry of the Interior,1997 - The Ministry of Culture is created. In accordance with Article 7, the Ministries in order and precedence were then thus, Ministry of the Interior and Justice Merging the Ministry of Justice and Law with the Ministry of the Interior. Ministry of Mines and Energy Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Merging the Ministry of Foreign Trade with the Ministry of Economic Development, 2010s 2011 - The Ministry of the Interior and Justice is once again divided into the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice and Law. 2011 - The Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development is divided into the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development,2011 - The Ministry of Social Protection is divided into the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection
13.
Colombian presidential election, 2010
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The Colombian presidential election of 2010 took place under a two-round system, with an initial vote held on May 30 and a second poll held three weeks later on June 20. Santos won the election with 69% of the votes, in 2002, Álvaro Uribe of the Colombia First party was elected president with 53. In 2006, he managed to change the Constitution in order to run for a consecutive term. After a practically mute campaign, Uribe won the election with 62.2 per cent of the vote, in September 2009, Congress approved the referendum bill in a late-night voting boycotted by members of the opposition. On February 26,2010, the Constitutional Court voted against the referendum bill, immediately after the ruling, former defence minister Juan Manuel Santos confirmed that he would become a presidential candidate. Another Uribist candidate was Germán Vargas Lleras of the Radical Change party, two of the opposition candidates were Rafael Pardo of the Liberal Party and Gustavo Petro of the Alternative Democratic Pole. Álvaro Leyva Durán, a Uribe opponent, was seeking the nomination by the Conservative Party. On October 2,2009, the Green Party was officially created and it nominated its presidential candidate on a primary ballot that took place on March 14,2010, the same day as the legislative election. The contenders were three former Bogotá mayors, Enrique Peñalosa, Antanas Mockus, and Luis Eduardo Garzón, the Greens seek to be a moderate force in what they called a polarized political situation, calling themselves Post-Uribists. Mockus was chosen as their candidate, former Medellín mayor Sergio Fajardo joined him as his running mate on 5 April 2010, after missing the requirements to become a presidential candidate himself. On polling day seven Colombian security services personnel were killed and eight were missing, parallels were drawn with FARC attacks, no candidate received an outright majority in the first round vote held on May 30. Santos and Mockus faced one another in the election on 20 June. Santos achieved a victory, with 69 per cent of the votes. Mockus got 27.51 per cent of votes and this was the largest margin of victory for a president in the democratic period of Colombias history. Santos won 32 of the countrys 33 electoral districts and his allies have an overwhelming majority in the Colombian Congress. Santos vowed to continue his predecessors hardline stance against the countrys Marxist rebels and he paraphrased Isaac Newton – If we have come far its because we are standing on the shoulders of giants – and said he would rid Colombia of what he described as the nightmare of violence. The United States State Department said it was pleased with the election of Santos and praised the spirited debate before the runoff, the First Round Results by department happened to be exactly the same as the second round results by department, Colombian legislative election,2010
14.
Colombian presidential election, 2014
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Presidential elections were held in Colombia on May 25,2014. Since no candidate received 50% of the vote in the first round, incumbent president Juan Manuel Santos was allowed to run for a second consecutive term. In the first round, Santos and Óscar Iván Zuluaga of the Democratic Center were the two highest-polling candidates and were the contestants in the June 15 run-off. In the second round, Santos was re-elected president, gaining 50. 95% of the vote compared with 45. 00% for Zuluaga, by law the incumbent president Juan Manuel Santos had to declare before November 25,2013 whether he would stand again for president. The following day Garzón said he would not seek reelection as Vice President in 2014, on February 24,2014 Santos confirmed that Vargas Lleras would be his running mate for the 2014 election. On February 28,2014 Trujillo was named as Zuluagas vicepresidencial running mate, the Colombian Conservative Party overwhelmingly chose Marta Lucía Ramírez to be its presidential candidate at its convention on January 26,2014. Ramírez polled 1047 votes from the delegates, comfortably ahead of the other contenders Pablo Victoria with 138 votes, the main socialist opposition party, the Alternative Democratic Pole, had been split by infighting in the four years since the previous election. Petro formed the Progressives Movement in 2011 and successfully ran for Mayor of Bogota himself, another faction of the PDA left to form the Patriotic Course movement. The Green Party had also suffered serious divisions since its second place in the 2010 election. This new political alliance decided that its candidate for the 2014 elections would be chosen by a vote on March 9,2014. In the election on March 9,2014 Enrique Peñalosa was elected as the Green Alliances presidential candidate with 48% of the vote, comfortably ahead of Romero and Sudarsky. On March 18,2014 Peñalosa announced that his running mate would be Isabel Segovía, the far-left Patriotic Union party chose its former president Aída Abella to be its presidential candidate at its fifth national congress on November 16,2013. Abella had just returned from 17 years in exile in Switzerland after fleeing Colombia in 1996 following an attempt on her life, the table does not include the votes in the earliest polls for potential candidates who subsequently did not stand for election. A notable feature of the polls was the high percentage of people intending to cast a blank vote. This reflected the dissatisfaction among the Colombian public with all the candidates
15.
Colombian legislative election, 2010
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Colombia held elections to both chambers of Congress on 14 March 2010. The nationwide constituency for the 102-member Senate was contested by 16 lists, there are 33 regional constituencies for the Chamber of Representatives, plus a few other ethnic minority constituencies. In all,282 lists, with 1,533 candidates, almost 30 million people were registered to vote. Incumbent President Álvaro Uribe maintained a majority of seats in the Senate. The two major parties supporting Uribe – the Party of the U and the Conservative Party –, got 27 and 23 seats, respectively. The Party of the U achieved 25. 17% of the votes, gaining eight seats, followed by the Conservative Party, with 20, 6%, which gained four seats. The Liberals, which consists the main party in the Senate, achieved 15. 8% of the votes. The Liberal Party was followed by the National Integration Party, also allied to Uribe, was a surprise, achieving 8. 13% of the votes. It became the political force in the country, surpassing the Radical Change, also in the Uribe coalition. The Alternative Democratic Pole, a radical opposition party, lost two seats, achieving 7. 62% of the votes and eight seats. The Green Party achieved five seats with 4. 75% of the votes, the Citizens Commitment for Colombia achieved 1. 6% of the votes and gained no seats. The Uribist coalition also maintained its majority in the Chamber,48 Party of the U candidates were elected as Representatives, followed by 39 of its main opponent, the Liberal Party. 38 Uribist Conservative Party candidates were as Representatives,14 Radical Change candidates were elected, followed by the National Integration Party, with 12. Four Democratic Pole candidates were elected, followed by the Green Party, the Independent Absolute Renovation Movement, the Liberal Unity, and the Liberal Opening won two seats each. The Indigenous Social Alliance and the ALAS won one seat each
16.
Colombian parliamentary election, 2014
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Legislative elections were held to elect members to both chambers of Congress in Colombia on 9 March 2014. The nationwide constituency for the 102-member Senate was contested, as well as the 166 seats of the House of Representatives, there were 773 candidates for the Senate,1528 candidates for the House of Representatives, and 23 candidates for the five Colombian seats in the Andean Parliament. 32,795,962 Colombians had been registered to vote in the elections by the date of 25 January 2014. The elections were notable for the decision by former president Álvaro Uribe to stand for the Senate, Uribe is constitutionally barred from standing for president again, having already served two terms. Both Senators and Representatives are elected to terms however the electoral system differs. The House of Representatives uses proportional representation with the serving as constituencies. Senate Colombian presidential election,2014 National Electoral Council of Colombia
17.
Departments of Colombia
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Colombia is a unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District. Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly, elected by popular vote for a four-year period, the governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods. Departments are country subdivisions and are granted a degree of autonomy. Departments are formed by a grouping of municipalities, Municipal government is headed by mayor and administered by a Municipal Council, both of which are elected for four-year periods. Each one of the departments of Colombia in the map below links to a corresponding article, current governors serving four-year terms from 2015 to 2019 are also shown, along with their respective political party or coalition. Estimate for Cundinamarca includes the capital, Bogotá. The indigenous territories are at the level of administrative division in Colombia. Indigenous territories are created by agreement between the government and indigenous communities, also indigenous territories may achieve local autonomy if they meet the requirements of the law. Article 329 of the 1991 constitution recognizes the collective ownership of indigenous territories. Decree 2164 of 1995 interprets Law 160 of 1994, providing, among other things, indigenous territories in Colombia are mostly in the departments of Amazonas, Cauca, La Guajira, Guaviare and Vaupés. When it was first established in 1819, República de la Gran Colombia had three departments, in 1824 the Distrito del Centro was divided into five departments, and further divided into seventeen provices. One department, Istmo Department, consisting of two later became Panama. With the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1826 by the Revolution of the Morrocoyes, in 1832 the provinces of Vélez and Barbacoas were created, and in 1835 those of Buenaventura and Pasto were added. In 1843 those of Cauca, Mompós and Túquerres were created, at this time the cantons and parish districts were created, which provided the basis for the present-day municipalities. However, the new constitution of 1853 introduced federalism, which lead to the consolidation of provinces into states,1861 saw the creation of the final federal state of Tolima. The Colombian Constitution of 1886 converted the states of Colombia into departments, with the state presidents renamed as governors
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Colombian Liberal Party
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The Colombian Liberal Party is a social-democratic and social liberal political party in Colombia. It was founded as a party, but later developed into a more social-democratic direction. The party was founded in 1848 and, in opposition to the Colombian Conservative Party, gaitán himself, then likely winner of the next presidential election, was shot down in 1948. Nowadays there are critics of the 16-year agreement but it greatly reduced the intensity of the violent political warfare that preceded it. In the 1994 election the Liberal Partys Ernesto Samper was narrowly elected President, immediately afterwards he was accused of accepting millions from the Cali Cartel to fund his campaign. Partly due to the scandal the Liberal Party lost seats in the 1998 parliamentary election, more seriously, the Liberals were defeated in the Presidential election held the same year. The Liberal Party suffered a split in the lead up to the 2002 elections. Horacio Serpa Uribe, the partys unsuccessful 1998 Presidential candidate was nominated to run again, however Álvaro Uribe, a former Senator and Governor from the party launched an independent Presidential campaign, backed by the Conservatives and dissident Liberals. Whereas Serpa supported the then ongoing negoitations with FARC, Uribe advocated confronting the guerrillas, Uribe was victorious in the elections, securing a majority in the first round. As a compromise, former president César Gaviria Trujillo was elected party leader in 2005, at the 2006 legislative election, the Liberals lost around half their seats. While they remained the largest party in the Chamber of Representatives, during the parliamentary elections of 14 March 2010, the Liberal Party obtained 17 senators and 37 representatives, placing third in both the Chamber of Representatives and Senate. At the 2010 presidential election Liberal candidate Rafael Pardo finished sixth with 4. 38% of the vote, the Liberal Party went on to join the governing coalition of President Juan Manuel Santos. Liberalism in Colombia Social Party of National Unity Official website Democracia a distancia, Elecciones 2006
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Colombian Conservative Party
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The Colombian Conservative Party is a traditional political party in Colombia. The party was established in 1849 by Mariano Ospina Rodríguez. The Conservative party along with the Colombian Liberal Party dominated the Colombian political scene from the end of the 19th century until 2002, currently, the Conservative Party is the second largest political force in the congress. It is part of the coalition of Juan Manuel Santos and supported the government of Álvaro Uribe since 2002. Lawyer José Ignacio de Márquez was elected president of Colombia in 1837, during his government, tensions between civil politicians and generals of the Independence War grew into the first civil war Colombia faced, Marquezs side was called Liberales ministeriales. After the war, known as the War of the Supremes, Alcántara created a new constitution, with conservative and centralist characteristics. Mariano Ospina Rodríguez was a prominent member of his government, he supported the return of the jesuits to the country, alcántaras administration preceded the government of General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera. Mosqueras supporters created the Liberal Party in 1848, in the newspaper La Civilización of October 4,1849, Ospina and Caro published the conservative program that became the ideological platform for the new party. In 1863 the Liberal party created a new constitution in the city of Rionegro which was opposed by the Conservative Party, the country went to an unstable period of economic decay and multiple short civil wars between states and parties. In 1876 the independent liberal politician Rafael Núñez was defeated by the liberal candidate Aquileo Parra. Núñez was in favor of reforming the state and the federal system and he was candidate of the Liberal party to the presidency in 1880 and won the election, despite many leaders of his own party opposed him. In 1884, he was reelected with the support of the Conservative Party, the modern Republic of Colombia was founded with a centralized and protectionist government and an educative system managed by the Catholic Church. Following the events of the Regeneration, the Conservative Party kept the government of Colombia until 1930, during this period the country experienced economical resurrection and sold Panama to the United States. Although the country was peaceful, two violent episodes occurred in this period, the Thousand Days War and the Banana massacre. During the Hegemony, the Conservative Party created the Bank of the Republic, however the emergent working classes felt irritated with the conservative governments and began supporting the Liberal Party, winning the presidency with Enrique Olaya Herrera in 1930. Political violence reappeared during Ospinas term, finally taking Gaitán as a victim and he was murdered in Bogotá on April 9,1948. After his assassination began the period known as La Violencia in which members of the Liberal Party formed armed guerrillas. The Liberal Party boycotted the election of 1950, which were won by the radical conservative Laureano Gómez
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Social Party of National Unity
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The Social Party of National Unity, or Party of the U is a political party in Colombia. The Party is led by President Juan Manuel Santos, currently, it is Colombias largest political party and has formed a coalition with the Liberal Party and Radical Change. Most of its members defected from the Colombian Liberal Party, yet it failed to unite all Uribistas, in 2006, the party took part in the parliamentary elections of 2006, in which it won 30 out of 166 deputies and 20 out of 100 senators. 3 years later, more than half of the congressmen from the Radical Change Party switched to Party of the U, for 2010 presidential elections, Party of the U chose former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos as presidential candidate and Governor Angelino Garzon as vicepresidential candidate. Juan Manuel Santos was elected with 69% of the vote in the runoff, the Party also obtained 27 seats in the Senate in the 2010 congressional elections. In 2012, the Uribistas and former President Alvaro Uribe along with Francisco Santos Calderon decided to form their own party the Democratic Center. This was the result of constant intervention and criticism from former President Alvaro Uribe towards his presidential successor Juan Manuel Santos, the announcement of peace negotiations with the FARC and the Colombian Government was a partial factor that led to the fragmentation. Nevertheless the party did not suffer high level defections towards the Democratic Center and it came first in the Senate elections, followed in second place by the Democratico Center led by Alvaro Uribe who became a Senator. In 2014, President Juan Manuel Santos was re-elected for a term, in a close race against former cabinet colleague. The party is yet to announce its plans for 2018. The Programatic Declaration is the ideological platform of the party. The Social Party of National Unity supports the development of the welfare state, the Party supports the implementation of a market based economy. It promotes globalisation, emphasising education, science and technology as key pillars that can help Colombia succeed in a global market, the Party supports decentralisation and more autonomy of the regions. Currently, the Caribbean Region is the first to begin the process to more autonomy. President Santos has also claimed that he supports Tony Blairs Third Way approach, since 2012, the party has been an observer member of the Liberal International
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Radical Change
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Radical Change is a political party in Colombia. After the elections on 12 March 2006, the party one of the most important in the new congress. Along with the Social Party of National Unity, or Party of the U, the party is regularly spattered by criminals cases or concerning facts of corruption. After the tenure of president Ernesto Samper, a fraction of the Liberal Party was not happy with the new Social democratic route the party was moving towards, as such, a more right-wing faction of the party split and formed Radical Change. It, however, did not run for parliamentary or presidential elections during the 1990s. In the 2002 elections, the party won 2 seats on the Senate and 7 in the chamber of representatives, the party joined a coalition with the government of Álvaro Uribe. The party voted in favor of the re-electionist project, which involved changing sections of the constitution which prevent a president from running for a second term,2006 was their best electoral year. They became the 4th largest political group in congress with 15 senators and 18 representatives, they remained in coalition with the Uribe administration, german Vargas Lleras, then leader of the party and senator, became one of the most active voices in the senate. Things turned sour for the coalition when the biggest party in congress proposed to change the constitution, yet again, the party was divided between those who wanted a second direct re-election for a third term and those who were against it. Vargas Lleras was amongst those opposed, in 2010, the party suffered big blows, losing votes and members in both chambers of congress. Vargas Lleras then ran as the party candidate in the 2010 presidential election finishing in place in the first round. The party remained true to their word and assisted the government with most of their agenda in congress, when the peace talks with the FARC guerrilla began, the party offered their approval and criticized now ex-President Álvaro Uribe for opposing dialogue. In 2014, the party participated in the elections and joined in a coalition with Juan Manuel Santos for his reelection. Vargas Lleras was named the vice-presidential candidate, although the party received fewer votes than in 2010, they regained one senator but lost one seat in the chamber. Santos won the round of the presidential elections that year making the vice-presidential position the highest the party had ever achieved. Official web site Democracia a distancia, Elecciones 2006
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Alternative Democratic Pole
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The Alternative Democratic Pole is a social democratic and democratic left party in Colombia political party in Colombia. It was founded as an alliance of the Independent Democratic Pole. Both parties opposed the economic program, securitization and militarization of Colombia under then-President Álvaro Uribe. Nowadays, it is the parliamentary party that has declared opposition to government of Juan Manuel Santos. As 2009, a part of PDA politicians consists of former guerrilla fighters who gave up armed struggle and demobilized during the late 1980s. The PDI and AD initially had their own pre-candidates for the 2006 presidential race, PDI had nominated Antonio Navarro and AD had nominated Carlos Gaviria. In a primary election held on March 12,2006, Gaviria won the nomination of the PDA. In the simultaneous legislative elections of 2006, the party won 9 out of 166 Deputies and 11 out of 100 senators, at the presidential elections of 28 May 2006, Carlos Gaviria came second with 22. 04% of the vote,2,613,157 votes. This was the highest ever result for a candidate in Colombias history. Thus, the party replaced the long-standing Liberal Party as the second force. After the election, the PDA was successful in gaining the support of groups representing the movement which affiliated with the coalition. Though, PDA is not related to guerrillas or any other armed factions as they state in their founding doctrine, We oppose to war. The PDA could further consolidate its organization and gain support on a local level, in October 2007, the PDAs candidate, Samuel Moreno Rojas won the mayoral election in Colombias capital Bogotá. In the 2010 congressional election, PDAs support declined. It won 7. 8% of votes and 8 of 100 seats in the Senate, before the election, a faction of the PDA had split off and joined the Green Party. Clara Lopez was the candidate for the 2014 presidential election, she placed fourth in the first round of the election, receiving 1,958,414 votes. Politics of Colombia List of political parties in Colombia Polo Democrático Alternativo Ideario de Unidad del Polo Democrático Alternativo Democracia a distancia, Elecciones 2006
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Green Alliance (Colombia)
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Green Alliance is a Colombian political party associated with the philosophies of the Green party and radical centrism. The Party is mostly influenced by the French party The Greens, the party was founded on November 25,2005 in Bogotá by a group of people headed by Carlos Ramón González Merchan and Elías Pineda. The party also obtained 23 Municipal mayors, three independent former mayors of Bogota, Luis Eduardo Garzón, Antanas Mockus, and Enrique Peñalosa, formed an alliance to choose an independent candidate for the presidency. However, they required a political structure, the ad-hoc coalition merged with the Centre Option Green Party, which changed its name to Green Party. Following this, the new party joined by many regional politicians, Mockus was elected candidate for the presidency in the Green Partys primary elections, held on March 14,2010. On the same day, the party gained 5 seats in the Senate, independent presidential candidate and former mayor of Medellín, Sergio Fajardo, joined the Mockus campaign soon after and was chosen as the Green Partys Vice Presidential candidate. On May 30, the Colombian Green Party became the political force as a result of the First Round of the Presidential Election with 21% of the electorate. On June 21, they received 28% of the vote thereby losing the Presidential election to Juan Manuel Santos who achieved 69% and your Life is Sacred Public Resources are Sacred Not Everything is Justifiable Conscience Vote Natural Resources Are Sacred Oxygen Green Party Colombian Green Party
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Independent Movement of Absolute Renovation
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The party also has functions as a non-profit organization. Commonly, the party is known in Colombia as Movimiento MIRA or just MIRA, members and affiliates are known as Miraists, and their ideology is called Miraism. On a global level, MIRA has been registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization of the United Nations since September 27,2011, in Asia, it is present in Japan. At the elections of 2002 the party won as one of the small parties parliamentary representation. The MIRA Movement took part in the elections of 2006. In 2010, MIRA took part in the elections, in which it won 1 out of 166 deputies and 3 out of 100 senators. The current party Chairman is Carlos Alberto Baena, the MIRA party was created on 2 March 2000 by Carlos Alberto Baena and Alexandra Moreno Piraquive, being elected as party Chairman and Vice chairwoman, respectively. The first elections in which the MIRA party participated were the elections of the 28th October 2000. Carlos Alberto Baena was elected thanks to 20,701 votes. In the Quindío department, the economist Bernardo Valencia Cardona was elected deputy, in the Risaralda department, Martha Cecilia Alzate was elected deputy. Besides, the party obtained councillors in several municipalities and seats in several Local Administrative Units, in total, the party obtained 53 curule seats, becoming the 18th political force in the Colombian politic spectrum. The party also obtained 84 curule seats, included 10 councillor curule seats, in this period, Alexandra Moreno assumed the chairmanship of the party. On 12 March 2006, the MIRA party obtained 237,512 votes in the parliamentary elections, as a result, Alexandra Moreno kept her seat as senator and Manuel Antonio Virgüez obtains a seat as senator. At the same time, Gloria Stella Díaz is elected as representative for Bogota thanks to 52,713 votes, after this results, the MIRA party became the ninth political force in Colombia. In the regional elections of 2007, the MIRA party obtained for the first time a mayorship, Carlos Enrique López was elected as mayor of the Calarcá municipality in the Quindío department. Martha Liliana Agudelo, Martha Cecilia Alzate and Guillermina Bravo Montaño were elected as deputies of the Quindío, Risaralda and Valle del Cauca departments, besides, the MIRA party obtained 35 councillors and 265 other curule seats. Carlos Alberto Baena is re-elected as party Chairman and Manuel Antonio Virgüez is elected as Vice chairman in 2008, in 2009 the party participated in the popular consultation done on 27 September to select its candidates to the Congress of Colombia. In that opportunity, the party surpassed the expected votation of 80,000 votes and this popular consultation was the first which allowed the participation of under-age people
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Foreign relations of Colombia
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Colombia seeks diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries, regardless of their ideologies or political or economic systems. For this reason, the Colombian economy is open, relying on international trade. Regional relations have also improved under the Santos Administration. The FARC numbers have diminished in the last decade to an estimated 5. In 2002, the Ecuadorian government closed its border crossing with Colombia. Ecuador continues to voice its concerns over an influx of émigré stemming from guerilla activity at its borders, returning Ecuadorian émigré have faced re-entry restrictions. In 2012, relations with Nicaragua and Venezuela were tested over territorial island disputes, Bilateral committees are negotiating the dispute with Venezuela over waters in the Gulf of Venezuela. In 1969, Colombia formed what is now the Andean Community along with Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, in addition, it has signed free trade agreements with Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela. Colombia has traditionally played a role in the United Nations. Former President César Gaviria became Secretary General of the OAS in September 1994 and was reelected in 1999, Colombia regularly participates in international fora, including CICAD, the Organization of American States body on money laundering, chemical controls, and drug abuse prevention. Colombia subsequently withdrew some of its reservations, most notably a reservation on extradition, maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela, territorial disputes with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andrés y Providencia and Quita Sueño Bank. The United States disputes sovereignty with Colombia over the Serranilla Bank, Quita Sueño Bank is claimed by the United States to be a submerged reef, and thus does not recognize the sovereignty of any nation over the bank. An OAS observer has monitored the governments peace process with the paramilitaries, the United States helps Colombia secure favorable treatment from the IMF. Regional treaties include the Andean Pact, now known as the Andean Community, which also includes Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, Colombia has signed free-trade agreements with Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela. Its recent trade agreements with Korea, China and Japan, have focused on Economic, within the regional Caribbean Community and Common Market, Colombia has also deepened Economic and Medical Science Research collaboration agreements. Colombia has also signed and ratified 105 international treaties or agreements relating to the protection of the environment and it has signed, but not ratified, the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol and conventions on Law of the Sea and Marine Dumping. Colombia also has signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, by 1975 signatories to the 1974 Declaration of Ayacucho, of which Colombia was one, had decided on limitations to nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. Gaining all 186 votes, Colombia served on the U. N. Security Council from 2011-2012 representing Latin American, Colombia is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the United States-military
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Human rights in Colombia
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Colombia is a sovereign state situated in South America. It has been a member of the United Nations since 5 November 1945 and it also has a series of domestic laws concerning the protection of human rights. In the UK Foreign Office annual human rights report for 2010 and these two treaties, together with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, make up the International Bill of Human Rights. Colombia signed both treaties in 1966, with their ratification being completed in October 1969, as of September 2011, Colombia had not signed up to the third additional protocol of 2005. The constitution of 1991 allows, in theory at least, for the rights of Colombia’s citizens to be protected under national constitutional law. As reported by the National and International Campaign for the Right to Defend Human Rights, in 2010, according to the Colombian based human rights organisation Somos Defensores, at least 174 acts of aggression towards human rights defenders were committed. This included 32 murders and 109 death threats, the Colombian government has a special protection program that seeks to protect those under threat. The Colombian embassy in Washington states that the protection program ‘offers long-term services based on needs of vulnerable individuals. In spite of this, the figures for the first semester of 2011 showed an increase of 126% in acts of aggressions committed against human rights defenders from 2010. Paramilitary groups were responsible in 59% of the cases, state security forces were held responsible for 10%. Colombian officials have also been implicated in stigmatising the work of human rights defenders. Justice for Colombia reports that between August 2010 and June 2011, there were 104 murders with direct ramifications for human rights concerns in Colombia and those murdered included human rights defenders, trade unionists and community leaders. On average, according to figures, one murder took place every three days. Colombia is widely referred to as the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist, according to government figures,37 unionists were murdered. Between January and August 2011,19 trade unionists have been reported killed, the ITUC reports that between 2000 and 2010 Colombia has accounted for 63. 12% of trade unionists murdered globally. According to Human Rights Watch and Justice for Colombia, most of these murders are attributed to right-wing paramilitaries, according to the National Labour School, a Colombian NGO monitoring trade union violence, impunity for crimes committed against trade unionists is running at 94%. Trade union membership in Colombia has fallen dramatically since the 1980s, less than twenty years ago it was double that figure but violence against trade unionists, changes in the labour market and anti-trade union policies have led to a huge decrease in membership. Colombia has ratified 60 ILO conventions and the eight conventions on fundamental labour rights, however, Justice for Colombia reports that in 2011 Colombians are still working in ‘conditions so poor that they violate both ILO conventions and Colombian national law’
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Military Forces of Colombia
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The Military Forces of Colombia are the armed forces of the Republic of Colombia. 9% of its GDP to defense. By 2008 this figure had risen to 4. 8%, ranking it 14th in the world, the armed forces number about 250,000 uniformed personnel,145,000 military and 105,000 police. These figures do not include assistance personnel such as cooks, medics, mechanics and this makes the Colombian military one of the largest and most well-equipped in Latin America. Many Colombian military personnel have received training assistance directly in Colombia
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Colombian conflict
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Two of the most important forces that have contributed to the Colombian conflict are multinational companies and the United States. The reasons for fighting vary from group to group, the FARC and other guerrilla movements claim to be fighting for the rights of the poor in Colombia to protect them from government violence and to provide social justice through communism. The Colombian government claims to be fighting for order and stability, the paramilitary groups claim to be reacting to perceived threats by guerrilla movements. Both guerrilla and paramilitary groups have been accused of engaging in drug trafficking, all of the parties engaged in the conflict have been criticized for numerous human rights violations. 16. 9% of the population in Colombia has been a victim of the war. 2.3 million children have been displaced from their homes, in total, one in three of the 7.6 million registered victims of the conflict are children, and since 1985,8,000 minors have disappeared. On 23 June 2016, the Colombian government and the FARC rebels signed a ceasefire deal. However, on October 2,2016, a majority of the Colombian public rejected the deal, in October 2016, Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year-long civil war to an end. The Colombian government and the FARC on November 24 signed a peace deal. The House of Representatives unanimously approved the plan on November 30, the armed conflict in Colombia emerged due to a combination of economic, political and social factors in the country 60 years ago. In the early period, guerrilla groups like the FARC, the ELN and others focused on slogan of greater equality through communism, in 1985, the FARC co-created the left-wing Patriotic Union political party. Eventually, the UP distanced itself from insurgent groups, initially, a group of Americans began to smuggle marijuana during the decades of the sixties and seventies. Later, the American Mafia began to establish drug trafficking in Colombia in cooperation with local marijuana producers, cocaine manufactured in Colombia were historically mostly consumed in the US as well as Europe. Organized crime in Colombia grew increasingly powerful in the 1970s and 80s with the introduction of drug trafficking to the United States from Colombia. These funds helped finance paramilitaries and guerrillas, allowing organizations to buy weapons which were then sometimes used to attack military. During the presidency of Álvaro Uribe, the government applied more pressure on the FARC. After the offensive, many security indicators improved, as part of a controversial peace process, the AUC as a formal organization had ceased to function. Colombia achieved a great decrease in production, leading White House drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske to announce that Colombia is no longer the worlds biggest producer of cocaine
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Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
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Head of state
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A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president
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Head of government
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The term head of government is often differentiated from the term head of state, as they may be separate positions, individuals, and/or roles depending on the country. In parliamentary systems, including constitutional monarchies, the head of government is the de facto leader of the government. For example, in the United Kingdom, the prime minister advises the Queen on the appointment of the cabinet, advice she is required to accept. On the other hand, the Queens long service as the head of state enables her to provide the prime minister with information and insight into many matters to better run the government. However, because the United Kingdom is a monarchy, the Prime Minister uses his or her own discretion regarding whether or not to follow the Queens advice. The Queen also is entitled to appoint a new Prime Minister, in presidential republics or in absolute monarchies, the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy, in semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature, with the specifics provided by each countrys constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958, in France, the president, the head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party, in this case, known as cohabitation, the prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the presidents influence is largely restricted to foreign affairs. In directorial systems, the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people, a prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council, where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. A common title for many heads of government is prime minister, various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, some of these titles relate to governments below the national level. Have been used by various Empires, Kingdoms and Princely States of India as a title for the Prime Minister, maltese, In Malta, the head of government is Prim Ministru. In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch, some such titles are diwan, mahamantri, pradhan, wasir or vizier. However, just because the head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader, in some cases, the head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion, the ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government. Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget, all of these requirements directly impact the Head of governments role. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament, heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Resignation, following, Defeat in a general election
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Congress of Angostura
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The Congress of Angostura was summoned by Simón Bolívar and took place in Angostura during the wars of Independence of Colombia and Venezuela. It met from February 15,1819, to July 31,1821 and it consisted of twenty-six delegates, representing Venezuela and New Granada. Important parts of the countries were still under Spanish rule, so only took place in the areas of southern Venezuela. The delegates from New Granada were chosen from among the fighting alongside the Venezuelan patriots. At its first meeting on February 19,1819, Bolivar gave his famous Address at Angostura, the Congress of Angostura is considered Venezuelas second legislative congress, the first being the one that met in 1811. This new nation joined Venezuela, New Granada and Quito, in order to differentiate it from the present Republic of Colombia, historians have traditionally called the nation Gran Colombia. A constitution for the new nation was created at the Congress of Cúcuta in August 1821, the congress established three large departments for the new country, Venezuela, Cundinamarca and Quito. Simon Bolívar was elected president, Francisco Antonio Zea vicepresident, Juan Germán Roscio vicepresident of Venezuela, on December 17,1819, the Fundamental Law of the Republic of Colombia was enacted by the congressmen in the city of Angostura. Therefore, the birth of Gran Colombia would be created by necessity, basically, the document explained how Colombia was going to be as an independent nation, in relation to the reasons that motivated the political union of Venezuela and New Granada. Then, the Fundamental Law of the Republic of Colombia is as follows, From 1819, the captain-generalship of Venezuela and the viceroyalty of New Granada join together their territories, which comprise an extent of a hundred and fifteen thousand square leagues. The national debt of Colombia consolidates in solidum the debts of both Venezuela and New Granada debts, the executive power is in the hands of the president and the vice-president, both to be provisionally appointed by the present congress. Venezuela, Quito and Cundinamarca are the three departments of the Gran Colombia, the name of the last one substitutes the old New Granada. Their respective capitals are Caracas, Quito and Bogotá, the departments have superior administrations and chiefs. The capital of Colombia is named after Bolívar and its place and situation is to be determined by the congress. Rosario de Cúcuta shall be the village in which the congress of Colombia would assemble, the congress will form the Constitution of the Republic of Colombia. In the same way, the congress shall determine the arms, the colors will be the Venezuelan ones, since they were being most known. On January 15,1820, the congress shall adjourn, then new elections to the congress can take place, the congress shall be replaced by a six-members committee and a president. On December 25,1819, in commemoration of the birth of the Saviour of the world, the aforesaid date, i. e. on December, shall be the anniversary of the Republic, due to its political regeneration
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Gran Colombia
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Gran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. It included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru, western Guyana, the first three were the successor states to Gran Colombia at its dissolution. Panama was separated from Colombia in 1903, since Gran Colombias territory corresponded more or less to the original jurisdiction of the former Viceroyalty of New Granada, it also claimed the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, the Mosquito Coast. Its existence was marked by a struggle between those who supported a government with a strong presidency and those who supported a decentralized. The two men had been allies in the war against Spanish rule, but by 1825, their differences had become public and were an important part of the political instability from that year onward, the official name of the country at the time was the Republic of Colombia. The name Colombia comes from the Spanish version of the eighteenth-century New Latin word Columbia and it was the term preferred by the revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to the New World, especially to all American territories and colonies under Spanish rule. He used an improvised, quasi-Greek adjectival version of the name, Colombeia, to papers and things relating to Colombia. Bolívar and other Spanish American revolutionaries also used the word Colombia in the continental sense, the establishment in 1819 of a nation with the name Colombia by the Congress of Angostura gave the term a specific geographic and political reference. The Republic of Colombia comprised more or less the former territories of the Viceroyalty of New Granada and it united the territories of the former Third Republic of Venezuela, the United Provinces of New Granada, the former Royal Audiencia of Panama and the Presidency of Quito. Before a new constitution could be written by the Congress of Cúcuta, under the Constitution of Cúcuta, the country was divided into twelve departments governed by an intendant. Departments were further divided into provinces headed by a governor. Military affairs at the department level were overseen by a commandant general, all three offices were appointed by the central government. The central government, which temporarily was to reside in Bogotá, consisted of a presidency, a bicameral congress, the president was the head of the executive branch of both the central and local governments. The president could be granted extraordinary powers in military fronts, such as the area that became Ecuador, the vice-president assumed the presidency in case of the absence, death, demotion, or illness of the president. Since President Bolívar was absent from Gran Colombia for the years of its existence, executive power was wielded by the vice-president. The vote was given to persons who owned 100 pesos in landed property or had an equivalent income from a profession, in that year, none of the provinces of Quito, nor many in Venezuela and New Granada, were free yet. The Constitution of Cúcuta was drafted in 1821 at the Congress of Cúcuta, Bolívar and Santander were elected as the nations president and vice-president. To break up regionalist tendencies and to set up efficient central control of local administration, the Gran Colombian army later consolidated the independence of Peru in 1824
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Government of Colombia
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The Government of Colombia is a republic with separation of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches. Its legislature has a congress, its judiciary has a supreme court, the citizens of Colombia cast votes concerning their government, and they employ a public sector office for an inspector general to oversee the public interface of the government. This safeguards the public, and guarantee the human rights spelled out in the Constitution of 1991, which provides the framework for a welfare state, Colombia has control institutions that mixes government and public officials, who work alongside one another. For example, the inspector general works closely with the governments controller general whose job it is to ensure governmental fiscal responsibility. An independent Ombudsman deals with complaints and functions as the national human rights institution. The executive branch of power in Colombia is headed by the President of the Republic and he is supported by the Vice President of Colombia, the Council of Ministers and Administrative Departments of Colombia. Mayors are subordinated to the governors who are representatives of the executive branch of government at a municipal level. Mayors are also elected in regional elections along with the department governors, the legislative branch is the branch that makes laws. Representatives are elected by the people and support there thoughts in government Elections in Colombia Electoral system Corruption in Colombia Government of Colombia
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Ministries of Colombia
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The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Colombia is composed of the most senior appointed politicians of the executive branch of the Government of Colombia. Members of the Cabinet are generally the heads of a Ministry Department, the existence of the Cabinet dates back to the first President Simon Bolivar. These members were appointed in order to advise the President and are required to assist him in his duties as stated by the Colombian Constitution. The Cabinet of President Juan Manuel Santos, the Secretary of Trade disappeared, its assignments were transferred to the Vice Ministry of Development, under the control of the Minister of Finance. 1990s 1991 - The Ministry of Foreign Trade is created,1992 - The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is renamed Ministry of Transport. 1993 - The Ministry of Justice is renamed Ministry of Justice,1993 - The Ministry of Environment is created. 1996 - The Ministry of Government is renamed the Ministry of the Interior,1997 - The Ministry of Culture is created. In accordance with Article 7, the Ministries in order and precedence were then thus, Ministry of the Interior and Justice Merging the Ministry of Justice and Law with the Ministry of the Interior. Ministry of Mines and Energy Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Merging the Ministry of Foreign Trade with the Ministry of Economic Development, 2010s 2011 - The Ministry of the Interior and Justice is once again divided into the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice and Law. 2011 - The Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development is divided into the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development,2011 - The Ministry of Social Protection is divided into the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection
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Executive Branch of Colombia
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The Executive Branch of Government in Colombia is one of the three branches of the government of Colombia under the Constitutional provision of separation of powers. The executive branch is led by the President of Colombia and its institutions, mainly the Council of Ministers. Each department is led by a department governor with derogatory functions from the President of Colombia to govern in its respective department, governors are elected representative of the municipalities that form a department. Each governor also appoints a cabinet, the department secretaries to support its governing duties. Furthermore, each municipality in Colombia is governed by a mayor, which in turn derogates for the president of Colombia, list of entities in the executive branch of Colombia Administrative Department of Public Functions Presidency of Colombia
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Colombian nationality law
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It is defined by Article 96 of the Constitution of Colombia and the Law 43-1993 as modified by Legislative Act 1 of 2002. Everyone born in Colombia acquires Colombian nationality, as long as at least one parent is either a Colombian citizen or resident. A child born outside Colombia who has at least one Colombian parent can be registered as a Colombian national by birth, a person who has lived in Colombia as a permanent resident for five years may apply for naturalization with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The person is expected to pass a test related to Colombian history, geography. A Spanish language test is required for people who are not native Spanish speakers. Those who have a degree from a Colombian university or are over 65 years old are exempt from these tests. Colombian nationality law acknowledges that a Colombian by birth or by naturalization as well can also have other nationalities, a person who renounced their Colombian nationality may recover it later. Nevertheless, certain government positions are barred for those with dual citizenship, Colombia law differentiates between nationality and citizenship. The 98th article of the Colombian constitution establishes that Colombian citizens are those nationals that are 18 years of age or older, Colombian citizens are allowed to vote on elections and exercise the public action of unconstitutionality
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Primary elections
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A primary election is an election that narrows the field of candidates before a general election for office. Primary elections are one means by which a party or a political alliance nominates candidates for an upcoming general election or by-election. Primaries are common in the United States, where their origins are traced to the movement to take the power of candidate nomination from party leaders to the people. Other methods of selecting candidates include caucuses, conventions, and nomination meetings, where primary elections are organized by parties, not the administration, two types of primaries can generally be distinguished, Closed primary. In the case of closed primaries, internal primaries, or party primaries, all voters can take part in an open primary and may cast votes on a ballot of any party. The party may require them to express their support to the partys values, in the United States, other types can be differentiated, Closed primary. People may vote in a primary only if they are registered members of that party prior to election day. Eleven states – Delaware, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, as in closed primaries, registered party members can vote only in their own partys primary. Semi-closed systems, however, allow unaffiliated voters to participate as well, depending on the state, independents either make their choice of party primary privately, inside the voting booth, or publicly, by registering with any party on Election Day. A registered voter may vote in any party primary regardless of his own party affiliation, eleven states - Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin - have open primaries. When voters do not register with a party before the primary, because of the open nature of this system, a practice known as raiding may occur. Raiding consists of voters of one party crossing over and voting in the primary of another party, the theory is that opposing party members vote for the weakest candidate of the opposite party in order to give their own party the advantage in the general election. An example of this can be seen in the 1998 Vermont senatorial primary with the nomination of Fred Tuttle as the Republican candidate in the general election, a registered voter need not publicly declare which political partys primary that they will vote in before entering the voting booth. When voters identify themselves to the officials, they must request a partys specific ballot. Only one ballot is cast by each voter, in many states with semi-open primaries, election officials or poll workers from their respective parties record each voters choice of party and provide access to this information. The primary difference between a semi-open and open system is the use of a party-specific ballot. In a semi-open primary, a declaration in front of the election judges is made. Certain states that use the format may print a single ballot
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Constitutional Court of Colombia
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The Constitutional Court of Colombia is the supreme constitutional court of Colombia. Part of the Judiciary, it is the appellate court for matters involving interpretation of the Constitution with the power to determine the constitutionality of laws, acts. The court was first established by the Constitution of 1991, the court is housed within the shared judicial complex of the Palace of Justice located on the north side of Bolívar Square in the La Candelaria neighbourhood of Bogotá. The Constitutional Court consists of nine magistrates who are elected by the Senate of Colombia from ternary lists drawn up by the President, the Supreme Court of Justice, the magistrates serve for a term of eight years. The court is headed by a President and Vice President, corte Constitucional 10 Años, Balance y Perspectivas. Bogotá, Our Lady of the Rosary University
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