Abstract

DUQUE DAZA, JAVIER. Presidential Candidacies in Colombia 1974-2018. Political Parties, Party Systems and Political Competition. Desafíos [online]. 2020, vol.32, n.2, pp.251-288.  Epub Jan 22, 2021. ISSN 0124-4035.  https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/desafios/a.7485.

The article analyzes the evolution of the number of presidential candidates in Colombia in the period 1974-2018. The starting point is a contextualized neo-institutionalist approach that considers that the number of candidates varies depending on the electoral rules and the socio-political dynamics of the period. It is a case study that analyzes in detail how these two factors affect the number of competing actors over more than four decades. The study includes a period of 44 years and 12 presidential elections and uses quantitative indicators to demonstrate the central argument. The main conclusions of the article are two. First, there is more pluralism and more competition in presidential elections, less candidates, but more relevant ones. The second, in the evolution of the number of candidates, institutional changes and interactions between the actors affect electoral competition, the thawing of the policy with respect to the 1974-1990 sub-period, the subsequent fragmentation with bipartisan dominance and the displacement of traditional parties of their places of preeminence.

Keywords : elections; candidacies; presidency; competition; Colombia.

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