Political Constitution of Colombia (1991)

The National Registrar of the Civil Status shall be chosen by the Presidents of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court of Justice, and the Council of State in a merits-based contest organized in accordance with the relevant statute. The term of office shall be four (4) years. The Registrar must possess the same qualities that the Political Constitution requires in the case of the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice, and must not have exercised functions in the executive committees of political parties or movements in the year immediately preceding his/her election.

He/She shall exercise the functions determined by an Act, including the direction and organization of the elections, the civil registry and the identification of persons, and shall conclude contracts in the name of the Nation in the cases provided by statute.

The National Registry Office shall be staffed by civil servants pursuing a special administrative career which may be entered only by means of a merits-based contest and which provides for a flexible retirement in accordance with service needs. In all cases, positions involving administrative or electoral responsibilities are subject to the principle of free removal, in accordance with the relevant statute.

The term of the current members of the National Election Commission and the National Registrar of Civil Status shall continue until the year 2006. The following election for any of these positions shall take place in accordance with the provisions of the present Legislative Act.