The new Colombian Congress will be occupied by almost 30% by women

Bogotá, 17 Mar The new Congress of Colombia, which came out of the vote on March 13, will be occupied by 28.8% by women, representing an increase of 9.1% compared to the previous one, as collected on Thursday by UN Women. Of the total 295 seats, including those in the House of Representatives and the Senate, 85 will be held by women, 30 more than in the previous electoral period (2018-2022). “This brings Colombia closer to the regional average of women's participation in parliaments,” said UN Women Representative in Colombia Bibiana Aido, as Colombia is finally above the global average for female participation (25.5 per cent) and is close to that of the region, which is currently at 32 per cent, since America has one of the most equal parliaments in the world. However, “the path is not yet over. We must continue to join efforts to advance towards parity,” said the Spaniard Aido. In the Senate, 33 of the 108 seats will be held by women (30 per cent) and in the House of Representatives women will be seated in 52 of the 187 seats (27.8 per cent). That's 10 senators and 20 more representatives than between 2018-2022. The head of the European Union (EU) Electoral Observation Mission (EOM), Javi López, yesterday “enthusiastically” celebrated this move from 20% to almost 29% of women's representation in Congress. “The progress is similar in both chambers, and it also occurs in the indigenous and Afro-descendant constituencies. However, despite the parity lists, only three women candidates won their seats in the 16 Special Transitional Constituencies for Peace (Citrep),” she said Wednesday during the EU EOM's preliminary statement. In the Citrep, votes where 16 victims were elected who will have a voice and vote in the House of Representatives in the peace seats, only 3 women were elected, by the special constituencies of Arauca, Córdoba and Antioquia. CHIEF ime/com/laa