The European Union Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) in Colombia has concluded that the first round of the presidential elections held this Sunday in the country was carried out in a "transparent" manner, as well as "pluralistic and competitive." This assessment comes after President Gustavo Petro denounced an alleged electoral fraud linked to changes in the census and the assignment of polling stations.
The Head of the Mission, Esteban González Pons, presented his analysis at a press conference, where he highlighted that "once again, Colombia has given a lesson in democracy." The Spanish MEP stressed that, "despite the presence of illegal armed groups in part of the territory, despite questioning of the electoral system, and despite growing polarization, Colombia has taken the ballot boxes to all the hamlets."
González Pons described the first round as "pluralistic and competitive" —from which far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella and continuity candidate Iván Cepeda emerged as contenders for the second round— and highlighted that citizen participation reached "a historic level" of 58%.
The Vice-President of the European Parliament also detailed that the Mission, which deployed 143 observers from 24 EU member states, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Canada, on election day, "qualified all phases of the process as transparent, orderly, and fluid, and verified that the candidates' representatives were able to carry out their work without restrictions."
In the same vein, he emphasized that "all candidates have been able to verify the regularity of the results processing and have not raised any objections that question them" and expressed his confidence that "this same democratic commitment will be maintained in the second round" scheduled for June 21.
MEP Leire Pajín, who heads the European Parliament delegation within the Mission, shared this assessment and expressed her wish that "the second round will also take place peacefully, democratically, without interference of any kind, and with full respect for Colombia's sovereignty and the will of the citizens."
The Mission's assessments —which will continue in Colombia to supervise the second round and will remain in the country for two months after the conclusion of the electoral process— come after fraud accusations made by Petro, who this same Tuesday assured he had proof.
The president has pointed out a difference of 885,409 "new identification cards that were not registered on the legal date" between the official census and that registered in the pre-counting software, and has also indicated that said computer system includes 696 additional polling stations.
"This makes a change in the total numbers," he indicated, before remarking that there are 5,300 tables that show "more than 300 votes in the day," "which is the maximum number that can be voted in election hours," and that "many reach 700 votes."
As he explained, in those tables is concentrated "where the advantage of 635,000 is located, with which Abelardo surpasses Cepeda." "I am providing the complete data for the 5,300 tables," he added, reiterating that he is making available to the authorities all the information that, in his opinion, supports the alleged irregularities denounced, accusations that, in any case, have not been supported by Cepeda himself.