The House of Representatives (Spanish: Cámara de Representantes) is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia.

The House has 166 elected members for four-year terms.

How the House is elected

According to the Colombian Constitution, every department is an electoral circumscription. There are also four special circumscriptions: One for Indian communities, one for Afro-Colombian communities (negritudes), one for other minorities and one for Colombian citizens abroad, which have become lately a coveted political group.

There will be two representatives for each territorial circumscription, and every territorial circumscription will elect an additional member for every 250,000 residents or fraction greater than 125,000 residents in excess of the first 250,000 residents. The Afro-Colombian circunscription elects two representatives, and the Indian, other minority and expatriate circumscriptions elect one each.

Requirements

To be a representative, a person must be a Colombian citizen (regardless of place of birth) who has attained the age of 25 years at the moment of election.

Exclusive powers of the House

1.Elect the People's Defender.

2.Examine the budget and treasury audit by the Auditor General.

3.Indict for the impeachment of the following officeholders: President, Constitutional Court justices, Supreme Court justices, Judicature Superior Council magistrates, State Council magistrates and the Attorney General

4.Listen to the complaints stated by the Attorney General or private citizens against the aforementioned officers, and recommend impeachment if they're worth.

5.Request the aid of other authorities to pursue the investigations.

External links

House of Representatives of Colombia website (http://www.camararep.gov.co)