At 08:00 hours, local time, the voting centers opened calmly, according to the first reports from the National Electoral Council (CNE).

The protocol ceremony to open the elections took place Plaza de Bolivar, in this capital, and was chaired by CNE President Doris Ruth Mendez, and National Registrar Alexander Vega.

The official thanked national and international observers for their support and highlighted the election of all 16 seats for the victims of the armed conflict, an achievement of the Peace Agreement, as one of the novelties in this process.

According to statistics from the National Registry, 38,819,901 Colombians, 20,031,855 of whom are women and 18,788,046 are men, are qualified to elect the senators of the Republic and the representatives to the Chamber.

According to the CNE, 112,000 polling stations were set up throughout the Colombian territory and voting will officially close at 4:00 p.m., local time.

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