ELECTIONS HELD IN 1994
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Chamber: | |
Senado de la República | |
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13 March 1994 | |
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Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members’ term of office* | |
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The 1994 congressional elections were held simultaneously with local polling within the country’s departments.
As in the past, the governing Liberal Party (PL) was chiefly challenged by the Social Conservative Party (PSC, formerly the Conservative Party). The electoral campaign was peppered by incidents of violence and disruption by both extreme right-wing paramilitary groups and left-wing guerrilla organisations, especially the Simon Bolivar National Guerrilla Co-ordinating Board (CNGSB). The multitude of candidatures (5333 altogether) and lists of these (251 for the Senate, 628 for the House) had the effect of relegating the contending parties and their platforms to secondary importance behind the personalities of those in the running. In truth, no outstanding issues could be singled out, with virtually all contestants advocating an end to domestic hostilities, improvement of the social situation and a fight against official corruption. In contrast to the tense two months before the elections, polling day itself, supervised by thousands of security forces, was relatively calm. However, nearly 70% of the electorate abstained from voting a rate attributed to public disillusionment with country’s politics, the confusing complexity of the ballot papers and the fear of poll-related violence. Final results allowed the PL to retain its bicameral majority and the PSC to maintain its respectable runner-up position; on the other hand, the representation of left-wing parties such as the Democratic Alliance (ADM-19) was sharply reduced. The same day as the legislative elections, Mr. Ernesto Samper Pizano was selected as the PL candidate for the May/June presidential elections, which he ultimately won over Mr. Andrés Pastrana, the conservative-backed candidate. President-elect Samper took office on 7 August, succeeding fellow PL member César Gaviria Trujillo. |
STATISTICS
Round no 1 (13 March 1994): Elections results | |
Number of registered electors | 17,003,195 |
Voters | 478,718 |
Valid votes | 5,666,407 |
Round no 1: Distribution of seats | |||
Political Group | Total | ||
Liberal Party (PL) | 59 | ||
Social Conservative Party (PSC) | 27 | ||
New Democratic Force (NFD) | 5 | ||
Democratic Alliance (ADM) | 1 | ||
Patriotic Union (UP) | 1 | ||
Independents | 7 |
Comments: | |
Excluding the two special representatives of the indigenous (Indian) communities. |
Distribution of seats according to sex: | |
Men: | 95 |
Women: | 7 |
Copyright © 1994 Inter-Parliamentary Union