Just seven days after the closing of the candidate registration period for the Territorial Elections that will take place on Sunday, October 29, 2023, the National Registry has reported that there are only 460 registered citizens who aspire to hold elected positions for the period 2024-2027.
The candidate registration process has shown not very encouraging figures, since to date only 8 candidates have been registered for the office of governor, 11 for departmental assemblies, 147 for mayors, 234 for councils and 60 for the Local Administrative Boards (JAL). The acceptance of the candidacies has been carried out through various modalities, including facial biometrics (107), letter of acceptance (5), Integrated Service Stations (EIS) (262) and manual (86).
The low number of registered candidates will occur in the last days since it was estimated that more than 120,000 candidates register for the political groups for this electoral process. These elections will determine 32 governors and 418 deputies that will make up the departmental assemblies, as well as 1,102 mayors and 12,072 councilors from all the municipalities of the country, including the capital district, in addition to 6,885 councilors that will integrate the Local Administrative Boards (JAL).
It may interest you: “Colombia is not a world power of life”: Cabal to Petro
Compared to the territorial authority elections held in 2019, when a total of 116,446 citizens registered their candidacies, the low turnout on this occasion is notable and has drawn the attention of the electoral authorities.
The National Registry of Civil Status has enabled the web platform so that candidates interested in participating in the 2023 territorial elections can register virtually. The entity calls on applicants not to leave the registration of candidacies until the last minute, whose deadline is Saturday, July 29, that is, three months before the elections.