EU Electoral Observation Mission in Colombia highlights “democratic culture in the country”

In Colombia there is “an entrenched democratic culture” and in general the balance of this year’s electoral process is “very positive” according to the Electoral Observation Mission of the European Union.

The statement was made to voice of americaJavi López, socialist MEP and head of the Mission, after presenting the final report that contains an analysis and presents 24 recommendations based on international standards.

One of the priorities is “improving the control of campaign financing.” “The Mission has been able to observe that the National Electoral Council does not have the necessary resources and mechanisms to control the funds managed by the parties,” the document states.

“It is true that there are routes, probably dark economy and campaign financing, and there needs to be greater control of all the money that ends up reaching politics in general,” López stresses.

Likewise, the EU highlights that in some Colombian territories there was vote buying, especially during the legislative elections. “Efforts should be made in terms of raising awareness about voting, which is a private and secret decision,” says the head of the Mission.

Female representation in Congress

On the other hand, although the report highlights that “although the number of women elected to Congress increased, legislative measures are still necessary to guarantee effective parity.” “We believe that it is possible to carry out legislation that leads to more equal representation,” explains López.

“Removing the power of some administrative authorities to suspend or dismiss elected officials for disciplinary offenses”, in addition to “approving a clear regulation of institutional advertising in the media in accordance with objective criteria of justice, fairness and transparency” are other factors that highlights the block among its recommendations.

Regarding the positive aspects, the head of the Mission highlights the “good organization” and the “transparency and traceability tools in terms of data”, while also valuing that the defeated presidential candidate, engineer Rodolfo Hernández, and the electoral authorities “had an exemplary behavior.”

On the other hand, despite the traditional political violence that has marked the electoral processes in Colombia in the past, the Spanish legislator celebrates that this year the elections, the three electoral processes, in general, took place in a peaceful atmosphere.

For its part, the National Electoral Council (CNE) stated in a press release that the body had met with European representatives to learn about the report and noted that the president of the CNE “made a reflection before the EOM on state financing and on eligibility and inability, the first as a rule and the second as an exception”.

The Colombian Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada, said through social networks that he met with Javi López and with the EU ambassador in Colombia. “We received the final report of the 2022 legislative and presidential elections in Colombia and its recommendations for political reform,” he said.

The Electoral Body invited the bloc’s Observation Mission to participate in the oversight of the elections. The observers arrived in January 2022, and were in the Latin American country for six months. In total, more than a hundred short- and long-term observers traveled throughout the territory to observe the electoral campaigns, the legislative elections, the first and second presidential rounds, and the scrutiny of the processes.

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