The number of foreigners who may vote in Colombia’s October 30 local elections has risen by nearly 300,000 compared to those enrolled four years ago, Caracol Radio reported Thursday.
According to the National Registry of Civil Status, 649,000 foreigners are able to vote exclusively for municipal elections, most of them in Bogota, while that number four years ago was 352,000.
Law 1070 allows citizens from another country who have spent more than five years of residence in a Colombian municipality to vote.
The law, however, allows foreigners to vote only for the office of mayor or city council, and eventually on local boards, but not for governors nor deputies.
This year, 731 foreigners enrolled in Bogota, 228 in Valle, 115 in Antioquia, 51 in Santander, 29 in Bolivar, and 24 in Atlantico.