2019 Colombian regional and municipal elections

The 2019 Colombian regional and municipal elections were held on Sunday, 27 October 2019 in Colombia to elect the governors of the 32 departments, deputies to departmental assemblies, mayors of 1,102 municipalities, municipal councillors and aldermen on local administrative boards (Juntas Administrativas Locales, JAL).

Electoral systems

The governors of Colombia's 32 departments are elected to a single four-year term by first-past-the-post. The governor is considered the head of the local administration, but also the president's agent in the department to maintain public order and implement national policies.^[1] Each department has a departmental assembly (asamblea departamental), with between 11 and 31 members depending on the department's population,^[2] whose members are elected using the same electoral system as that used for congressional elections - namely, optional open party-list proportional representation with the threshold being equal to half of the electoral quotient. Political parties choose whether their lists are 'preferential' (open) or 'non-preferential' (closed). Candidates on the party's open list are reordered based on the results, although votes cast only for the party rather than a candidate only count for purposes of seat allocation between parties.

The mayors of Colombia's 1,102 municipalities are elected to a single four-year term by first-past-the-post. The mayor is the head of the local administrative and the legal representative of the municipality.^[3] Each municipality has a municipal council (consejo municipal) made up of 7 to 21 members, depending on the municipality's population. Municipal councillors are elected using the same electoral system used for departmental assemblies.^[4]

Municipalities may further subdivide themselves into comunas (in urban areas) and corregimientos municipales (in rural areas) which are administered by a local administrative board (Juntas Administrativas Locales, JAL).

Bogotá, the capital, has a special constitutional status as Capital District. Despite being the capital of Cundinamarca department, the government of Cundinamarca has no authority over Bogotá's territory and the city's inhabitants do not vote for the governor of Cundinamarca. While Bogotá is counted as a municipality, it has the powers of both departments and municipalities. The capital is administered by a directly elected Superior Mayor (Alcalde mayor) and has a 45-member council, both serving four-year terms. Bogotá is subdivided into 20 localities (localidades) each with their own JAL of at least 7 members and a local mayor appointed by the superior mayor from a list submitted by the JAL.^[5]

Mayors and governors may not serve consecutive terms, but may be reelected to non-consecutive terms. Members of assemblies, councils and local administrative boards have no term limits.

Elections for governor

Atlántico

Population: 1,934,188 (2019 est.)
Incumbent Governor: Elsa Noguera

Candidates

Carlos Julio Dennis
Diana Macias
Elsa Noguera
Rodney Castro
Nicolas Petro

Results


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Elsa Noguera	La Clave es la Gente–Radical Change–Conservative	687,101	73.20
	Nicolas Petro	Colombia Humana Atlántico-Humane Colombia	191,302	20.38
	Carlos Julio Dennis	Colombia Justa Libres	33,628	3.58
	Diana Macias	ISA	16,900	1.80
	Ricardo Arias Mora	Colombia Renaciente	9,738	1.04
Blank votes
Total			938,669	100.00

Valid votes			938,669	91.08
Invalid votes			91,910	8.92
Total votes			1,030,579	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,030,579	100.00
Source: [1]

Bolívar

Population: 1,015,551
Incumbent Governor: Vicente Blel Scaff

Candidates

Hernando Padui
Horacio Correa
Luis Daniel Vargas
Vicente Blel Scaff

Results


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Vicente Blel Scaff	Conservative-Liberal-Party of the U-Democratic Center	384,171	61.79
	Hernando Padaui	Radical Change	171,742	27.62
	Luis Daniel Vargas	Colombia Renaciente	34,767	5.59
	Horacio Correa	Bolívar Alternative	31,080	5.00
Blank votes
Total			621,760	100.00

Valid votes			621,760	75.72
Invalid votes			199,359	24.28
Total votes			821,119	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			821,119	100.00
Source: [2]

Cesar

Population:
Incumbent Governor:

Candidates

Luis Alberto Monsalvo
Claudia Zuleta
Kaleb Villalobos Brochel
Hugo Vásquez
Jaime Araújo

Results


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Luis Alberto Monsalvo	Radical Change-Liberal-Party of the U	279,414	63.00
	Claudia Zuleta	Democratic Center	98,250	22.15
	Luis Daniel Vargas	Colombia Renaciente	34,767	7.84
	Horacio Correa	Bolívar Alternative	31,080	7.01
Blank votes
Total			443,511	100.00

Valid votes			443,511	68.99
Invalid votes			199,359	31.01
Total votes			642,870	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			821,119	78.29
Source: [3]