Colombia celebrating this Sunday, with debate, in the first round presidential election. The election authorities’ decision not to mandate international oversight of the system used to count votes has deepened the concerns of candidates for the country’s highest office, who took part in the latest televised debate this Thursday.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) claimed that it did not have time to have the services of a company specializing in vote counting, like the German Dermalog, after those involved in vote counting had stepped aside. The explanations did not convince the candidates. Alfonso Prado, A key man on Gustavo Petro’s campaign teamThe flag-bearer of the left and the top pollster expressed “concern” about the Historical Pact coalition.absence of warrantyPrada urged the international community to “contain the Colombian democratic process in the face of each of these disturbances”.
Federico Gutiérrez, right-wing candidate and second in pollsHe agreed with his main competitor: “Of course this is worrying, because the audit could serve as a guarantee. transparency not as a result of the selection, but also if it was made on time, have errors checked or irregularities could exist in legislative elections, as condemned”.
centrist candidate Sergio Fajardo noted on the same line. “It’s another chapter in this dark world of the (Election) Registry. Insecurity, there are no guarantees needed in Colombia. What happened is very unfortunate. Let’s hope things go well, but there is no explanation for what they did, and so much damage has been done.” he explained. “Due to the way the control institutions are run and the way they run the country, the seriousness in Colombia has been lost and the institutional framework broken.”
Three contestants will participate in the television debate. For The currently rising candidate, Rodolfo Hernández, has decided to avoid public discussion. with other competitors. The right-wing populist Hernández, who threatened to get votes from Gutiérrez, also did not address the issue of control.
rumors and suspicions
The climate of suspicion surrounding the election even led Petro to make a guess. coup which is not completed. But the same idea is the former conservative president’s Andres PastranaIn Petro’s ideological opposition, he endorsed the hypothesis and asked the current president: Ivan Duketo “undo” this so-called maneuver aimed at suspending elections. Minister of Interior, Daniel Palacioscategorically rejected such a scenario.
The issue of external audit of the review has only fed back an atmosphere of suspicion. To disable it, the Duke asked the CNE to resolve the situation. “We transferred resources on May 2 and it is the duty of the electoral authority to carry out this external audit of the elections and to give the Colombian people peace of mind and full dignity.” Some observers viewed Duque’s intervention as a mere formality: the elections were only a few hours away.
increase in violence
In this context, the European Union (EU) expressed its concerns last Monday regarding the recent assessment of the Election Observation Mission (EOM) in Colombia. election violence crimes More than 100% according to the 2018 elections. According to the MEB, 581 events. The most affected areas are Bogota, Cauca, Antioquia, Norte de Santander and Valle del Cauca. In this sense, it was recommended to “arrest those responsible for these acts of violence, to improve communication between the Public Power and political parties”, as well as “to take measures that guarantee a free election campaign and to have protocols that guarantee citizens to vote”. “.
Source: Informacion