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Bogotá.- The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) congratulated Colombia this Tuesday for the transparency, speed, and “good organization” of the second round of the presidential elections last Sunday, which, according to the preliminary count, was won by the far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella.
n” “n“The election day proceeded peacefully and in an organized manner, with no notable incidents reported,” stated the head of the mission and Vice-President of the European Parliament, Esteban González Pons, during the presentation of the mission’s preliminary report, in which he highlighted the work of the National Registry, the organizer of the elections, and the National Electoral Council (CNE).
n” “nThe mission, deployed in Colombia since last January 26, indicated that it was present at 592 polling stations in 30 departments with nearly 150 observers from 24 European Union countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Canada.
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n” “nAccording to González Pons, the National Registry organized the runoff election “transparently and efficiently,” despite the logistical and security challenges that persist in some regions of the country, and he celebrated that the preliminary count results, in which De la Espriella defeated the leftist Iván Cepeda, were available in less than an hour.
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They highlight the reliability of the results management system
n” “nLikewise, he highlighted that the electoral officials acted with “professionalism, neutrality and independence” and stated that “the results management system proved once again to be reliable and effective, in line with international standards on transparency, integrity and traceability of the vote”.
n” “n“The first phases of the scrutiny, under the direction of judges and notaries of the Republic, have been carried out in the presence of the legal teams and representatives of the candidates. So far, the results of the scrutiny confirm those of the pre-count,” pointed out González Pons.
n” “nThe mission also highlighted the high turnout recorded on election day, exceeding 63%, which it described as the highest in the country’s history.
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n” “nHowever, European observers noted that nearly 320,000 young people who reached the age of majority during the four months prior to the election were unable to vote due to rules that suspend new registrations on the electoral roll during that period.
n” “nAggressive campaign tone
n” “nIn its assessment of the political context, the mission considered that the campaign was marked by strong polarization and by a tone that it occasionally described as aggressive, which generated tensions in the public debate.
n” “nObservers also warned about the growing use of artificial intelligence tools in political propaganda and denounced the existence of disinformation campaigns driven by unidentified sources.
“Technology was also used for widespread disinformation and the dissemination of hyper-realistic montages of both candidates, although more frequently in favor of De la Espriella,” indicated González Pons.
n” “nThe EU EOM will remain in Colombia until mid-July to continue observing the scrutiny and will subsequently return to the country in September to present its final report with recommendations aimed at strengthening the Colombian electoral system.
n” “nOmission of electoral expenses persists
n” “n“Under-reporting of expenses” remains one of the main problems of the Colombian electoral system, warned the head of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM), Esteban González Pons, this Tuesday, who asserted that it is a structural situation that affects all candidacies.
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“Expenses are made that are not declared, and the control of spending in electoral campaigns is one of the problems that Colombian legislation must resolve, and to date it has not been resolved,” stated González Pons during a press conference following the reading of the mission’s preliminary declaration in Bogotá.
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According to that report, “many departments reported campaign activities funded by in-kind donations, private contributions, and volunteer networks that were not properly declared on the (transparency) platform Cuentas Claras.”
n” “nFor the EU EOM, that detail becomes relevant because in the second round “the campaigns increased spending for voter transportation, hiring of poll watchers, outreach activities, and digital propaganda”.
n” “nIncrease in digital campaigns
n” “nThe observer and vice-president of the European Parliament clarified that the observation does not refer to a specific candidacy but is a generalized phenomenon that the mission has repeatedly identified in its reports on Colombia.
n” “n“It does not affect a specific candidacy, but all of them,” assured González Pons, who explained that the problem had already been identified in both the legislative elections and the first presidential round, and also in previous electoral processes observed by the European Union.
n” “nAs explained, the difficulties in controlling expenses have been aggravated by the growth of digital campaigns and the intensive use of social media.
n” “nThe EU EOM, which congratulated Colombia on the overall smooth functioning of the elections, will remain in the country until mid-July to continue observing the scrutiny process and will present a final report with recommendations in September.
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