-
Flag of Colombia/archive photograph
A week before the presidential elections in Colombia, the campaign is tense in the final stretch. This Sunday the candidates end their speeches in the public square, hunting for the undecided in a more polarized environment.
Death threatsthat the ghosts of the assassination in the country revive, distrust in the electoral system and the upturn in violence in remote areas warm up the spirits on the eve of the elections next Sunday.
Opposition senator Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla fighter and former mayor of Bogotá, The 62-year-old continues to lead the polls (41%), although not with enough support to avoid a runoff on June 19. If it wins, it would be the first time the left has seized power in a country historically ruled by conservative and liberal elites.
In a possible second round, the polls foresee a duel between Petro and the right-wing Federico Gutiérrez, 47-year-old former mayor of Medellín, with about 27% of the intention to vote, although closely followed. by an outsider: the independent businessman Rodolfo Hernández, 77 years old and impossible to place on the political spectrum. The Franco-Colombian candidate Ingrid Betancourt, a former hostage of the former FARC, joined the party. to her campa & ñ de ella; to Friday.
Very active and eloquent in the public square, Petro closes his campaign this Sunday in downtown Bogotá. next to the seat of the mayor’s office that occupied between 2012 and 2015. His vice-presidential candidate, the African environmentalist Francia Márquez, will accompany him. on stage. Her hundredth speech since August and the opportunity to reaffirm a promise of “change” without revenge, “for all Colombians” to curb “political hatred in society,” according to the candidate’s team.
“Fico” Gutiérrez will celebrate He held a rally the same day in Medellín (northwest), his birthplace and the second largest city in the country. After having called against “the communists” who want to “expropriate” and “do away with the institutions,” the leader of the right-wing coalition “Team for Colombia” It invites unity in the midst of polarization and the fight against “insecurity”.
Shadow of fraud
The campaign was marked by threats against the main candidates. Petro must have He strengthened his security scheme and now speaks in public with a bulletproof vest and protected by a siege of armored shields. to Francia Márquezwhile giving a speech in Bogotá which activated to the bodyguard of him and forced & gué; to cancel the rally. The prosecution is investigating the incident.
Gutiérrez also denounced the incident. intimidations that, added to a climate rarefied by violence, arouse fear of assassination in a country where five presidential candidates were assassinated in the 20th century.
Another controversy gains strength in the last stretch of the campaign, fueled by distrust in the electoral process that had a run-down performance in the legislative elections on March 13. So, the final count gave almost 400,000 votes for the left that had not been included in the pre-count released on voting day.
The Petro-led coalition won three additional seats in parliament to reach 45 and become the main force alongside the Liberals.
After several statements about the computer program that will be used. This time for the counting of the ballots, there are rumors about a possible suspension or resignation of the head of the National Registry of Civil Status in charge of organizing the elections or even an in extremis postponement of the count.  ;
On Saturday night, Petro released an “alert” and affirmed during a speech in Barranquilla (north) that “they are trying to hit the popular vote”.
“They plan to suspend the elections, they plan to suspend the bodies that govern the electoral process in Colombia”, assured vehement. The leftist called to an “emergency” on Monday with other candidates to discuss the issue.
The Minister of the Interior, Diego Palacios, denied it. on Twitter: “Affirmations that speak of the postponement or suspension of the elections are absolutely false. We ask candidates and teams not to generate disinformation,” he wrote.
In the same vein, the registrar Alexander Vega said on Sunday that he could guarantee “legitimate and legitimate” presidential elections. transparent”. denounced that the attacks against his institution correspond to “a narrative of fraud (…) unfair and false”.
But suspicions about the electoral system “are the air for a few days. It is possible that Petro is trying to avoid the coup by making it public”, comments a diplomatic source and clarifies: “a postponement of the elections is practically inconceivable in a country as legalistic and attached to democracy as Colombia ( …) but there is a lot of tension”, he warns.