European Union and EOM reported cases of vote buying in the past elections in Colombia

Complaints about alleged vote buying and alleged electoral fraud do not stop. In the last few hours, the same Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the European Union delivered its most recent report on how the legislative elections and presidential consultations that took place last Sunday, March 13, took place.

According to the electoral body, led abroad by MEP Javi López, the day was spent in peace, but it was marked by events that, unfortunately, affected the transparency of the elections that defined the new congressmen and three of the presidential candidates.

“The observers found numerous signs of vote buying and even witnessed some cases, especially in the Atlantic Coast region and in the departments with the largest vulnerable population, including the Special Transitional Constituencies of Peace (Citrep),” López said.

In addition, as reported by citizens living in the places where the constituencies in Colombia will rule, as well as personalities related to electoral bodies, the implementation of the Citreps presented certain anomalies.

“The implementation has had some design flaws, among which the exclusion of its geographical delimitation from the municipal capitals, where many displaced persons from conflict areas live,” said the official, in turn questioning the limited time frame of these seats, which will be in force since year in the Congress of the Republic.

Izaskun Bilbao, head of the Delegation of the European Parliament, spoke about the first election for victims to be able to legislate and assured that they were filtered by “problems of security, funding and infiltration of political parties and armed groups that make it difficult to achieve the objectives for which they were conceived. The registration of candidates with family ties to known perpetrators was the subject of strong criticism,” he said.

Although the increase in the election of women grew in these elections, it was not as expected, however, on behalf, foreign parliamentarians highlighted the increase in that gender quota.

“The number of women congressmen has increased from 20% in the outgoing Congress to 29% in the one elected on Sunday,” explained Bilbao, who assured that abroad they will provide all the guarantees and vigilance to ensure that the first presidential round on May 29 is carried out properly.

Despite the recorded purchase of votes registered by the EOM, the delegation on European territory highlighted the work of the National Civil Status Registry, which highlights the alleged electoral pedagogical work they carried out in the last elections.

He also referred to the work done to reduce invalid votes. However, these increased considerably in Colombia, in contrast to past elections. “In general, witnesses were able to observe the vote without undue restrictions and take photos of the results records. The introduction of separate cards significantly reduced the rate of invalid votes, and the Registrar's Office quickly released detailed preliminary results and scans of roundtable results,” said Lopez, who also recalled the murders of police officers in the departments of Meta and Caqueta prior to voting day.

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