This is the closest election in recent times in Colombia since the polls give a technical tie between Senator Gustavo Petro, candidate of the left-wing coalition Historical Pact, and Rodolfo Hernández, former mayor of Bucaramanga and standard-bearer of the Anti-Corruption Leaders League.
The elections to choose the future president of Colombia passed fairly “in peace”, despite the murder of two militants of the Historical Pact, a soldier, the capture of two guerrilla leaders and some complaints about irregularities in the voting software, which are already being attended by the Prosecutor’s Office of that country.
Polling stations opened at 8:00 am and closed at 4:00 pm. The atmosphere in Bogotá, the capital of the country, is like any other Sunday after a weekend with purchases without VATone of the attempts of the outgoing Iván Duque to reactivate the economy and that caused the fall of digital banking services.
At almost 4:00 sharp, the national registrar Alexander Vega closed the centers and asserted that this day is a “success for Colombian democracy, the Registry and the CNE.” He also showed caution in stating that this precount “is informative, we must wait for the final count by the National Electoral Council.”
In any case, the voters have been able to demonstrate and assure that they are crowded elections. Cesar Venegas told the Rebel Alliance Investigate that «I had never seen so many people to vote. I think that is good for democracy and that is what I hope: whoever wins, that democracy is maintained. The change was created because we were already tired with Uribe, but now we don’t know where we are going. And that’s the hard part right now.”
Luzmely Melo also voted in the early hours of the morning, hoping for positive change for her country. “Let’s hope we vote for the best president. That changes us a little, that hunger ends, that violence ends, there is more security. We need a government that doesn’t deceive us, doesn’t steal from us.”
This is the closest election in recent times in Colombia since the polls give a technical tie between Senator Gustavo Petro, candidate of the left-wing coalition Historical Pact, and Rodolfo Hernández, former mayor of Bucaramanga and standard-bearer of the Anti-Corruption Governors League.
The #ElectionsColombia start this #June 19 with voting centers open from 8:00am. Cesar Venegas expressed that he had never seen so many people to #vote. “I think that’s good for democracy” #ARIEleccionesColombia22 pic.twitter.com/46RWSs8gu9
– The Pitazo (@ElPitazoTV) June 19, 2022
The “old man,” as engineer Hernández is called, voted early in the city of Bucaramanga and then went to his hacienda to wait for the results, while Petro did it around 11:00 am from Bogotá, where he called to avoid voting. “fraud”.
Both the Registry and the current president, Iván Duque, promised to guarantee that the will of Colombians be respected through the ballot box. They also promised a day with the presence of the security forces, which did not prevent some incidents, including the death of two militants of the Historical Pact in the department of Cauca, one of them an electoral witness.
Fernando Ayala, a voter in the Boa sector, south of #Bogotahas already voted and says that he hopes that the #vote of citizens, “let it be for a positive change” #June 19 #ARIEleccionesColombia22 pic.twitter.com/6eYq1OBERZ
– TalQual (@DiarioTalQual) June 19, 2022
According to the Colombian Police, the person responsible is a leader of the ELN guerrilla. They also confirmed the death of a soldier in San Vicente del Caguán (Caquetá) but assure that it is not related to the elections this Sunday.
Susana Muhamad, vice president of Colombia Humana, said that there have also been some events with the security forces that prevented the right to vote “but thanks to the complaints they were resolved (…) These have been one of the presidential elections, just like the first round, with less record of violence».
#ColombiaDecides | While exercising her right to vote, attorney Margarita Cabello indicated that so far 38 complaints have been received for alleged intervention in politics and coercion of the voter, among others. https://t.co/AZYB7TCtap pic.twitter.com/gFY35BYNF4
– News Caracol (@NoticiasCaracol) June 19, 2022
While Attorney General Francisco Barbosa said that a series of complaints of irregularities in the Registrar’s software have been received, so they are going to unify all the concerns “so that from the National Unity we can resolve according to the circumstances ».
Petro, 62, is running with the social leader Francia Márquez as a running mate for the Vice Presidency. For her part, Hernández, 77, trusts academic Marelen Castillo for the position. This is the first time that the country will have an Afro-Colombian vice president.
In the first round, held on May 29, Petro obtained 8,527,768 votes (40.32%) and Hernández received 5,953,209 ballots (28.15%). Despite the allegations of alleged electoral fraud encouraged by some political sectors, the National Registry has assured that the transparency of the elections is guaranteed.
It is expected that an hour after the closing of the polling stations, the Registrar’s Office will have released consolidated results that will make it possible to know who will be the next president of Colombia, who will take office on August 7.
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