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In this edition of Enlace Andino from Colombia we talk about the controversial results of the parliamentary elections on March 13, which have not escaped accusations of fraud and have called into question the role of the General Registry of the Nation, the entity in charge to organize the electoral processes in the country. In addition, we analyze the three candidates who were winners in the inter-party consultations held together with the elections.
About 39 million Colombian citizens participated in the parliamentary elections to renew the two chambers of Congress. At stake were 108 seats for the Senate, six of them belonging to the special seats for peace, agreed in the 2016 Peace Agreement, and another 188 seats corresponding to the House of Representatives.
The Historical Pact, a coalition of left-wing parties, reached the Senate with the most seats (19 in total), but still failed to win a majority and will have to make alliances with center and right-wing parties.
The traditional Conservative and Liberal parties won 15 seats; the Alianza Verde coalition and Centro Esperanza 13 seats; while the ruling Democratic Center went from being the first political force in the Senate, with 19 seats, to being the fifth with only 13. Traditionally, the Colombian Congress has been center-right, so this unprecedented increase in the presence of senators of the left marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the legislature.
These elections have not escaped controversy. Several inconsistencies in the results were denounced and, despite the request of several political parties, the electoral authority desisted from carrying out a new vote count, a situation that has generated uncertainty and, to a certain extent, mistrust in the process.
In the aforementioned inter-party consultations, three candidates were elected to join a total of ten candidates who will contest the presidential elections next May.
As in Congress, the left grouped in the Historical Pact coalition, led by Gustavo Petro, wants to come to power to be the first president of this political spectrum to govern this South American country. On the other side are the traditional coalitions of right-wing parties like Equipo por Colombia, whose candidate, Federico Gutiérrez, received the support of Óscar Iván Zuluaga, the candidate of the decimated Democratic Center and the independent Rodolfo Hernández.
Sergio Fajardo, who is running for the presidency for the second time, is the candidate of the Centro Esperanza coalition and seeks to strengthen himself through alliances. According to recent polls, the candidates mentioned are the ones with the most options in terms of voting intentions for the first presidential round.
These presidential elections take place in the midst of high social discontent. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause problems in the economy, official figures show this with more than 21 million people in poverty and an unemployment rate of 11.8% estimated for the end of the current year. Both aspects being crucial, citizens are now wondering what the campaign proposals of those who aspire to govern in the House of Nariño will be.
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