First year

Voting from Abroad: The International IDEA Handbook

“The first Colombian electoral legislation (Law no. 39) was issued in 1961. It established that Colombians with permanent residence abroad could vote in presidential elections. Agreement on this provision was promoted by the exodus caused by political instability and the dictatorial regime (1953–7). The provision was first applied in the 1962 election, when there were 3,227 registered electors outside Colombia. In 1986, when the existing Electoral Code was decreed, article 116 confirmed the possibility of voting abroad in presidential elections.”