BOGOTA — Abelardo de la Espriella urged prosecutors to investigate whether rebel groups coerced citizens in remote municipalities to vote for Senator Iván Cepeda during Colombia's May 31 presidential election. De la Espriella and Cepeda will compete in a runoff election on June 21 to determine the next four-year presidential term.
Cepeda, an ally of President Gustavo Petro and a former member of Colombia's communist party, secured more than 70 percent of the vote across 109 municipalities with active illegal armed groups. Some locations recorded voter support for him as high as 97 percent. These municipalities are located along Colombia's Pacific coast, a region that has historically tended to support the current Colombian government.
De la Espriella's campaign released a statement saying, "These results, on their own, do not constitute definitive proof of a crime. But they should oblige authorities to investigate if there were threats, pressures or mechanisms to coerce voters and alter their freedom." A European Union electoral observation mission received complaints from voters stating they were pressured by government officials and illegal armed groups during the May election, but did not specify which candidate voters were pressured to support.
Cepeda received 40.9 percent of the overall vote in the first round, which included 14 candidates. De la Espriella finished first in the first round with 43.7 percent of the vote. Cepeda has acted as a mediator between the Colombian government and Marxist rebel groups. He stated during the campaign that he favors continuing negotiations with rebel groups, though he would adjust some methods.
Petro is a former member of the now defunct M-19 rebel group. Under Petro, the government has attempted to hold peace talks with remaining rebel groups under a strategy called "total peace." De la Espriella promised to cancel peace talks and adopt a more confrontational approach to rebel groups that includes using airplanes to spray coca fields with herbicides.