Colombia’s justice ordered presidential candidates, the leftist Gustavo Petro and the populist Rodolfo Hernández, who has refused public meetings with his opponent, to participate in a debate broadcast by radio and television ahead of the second round of the election, on Sunday (19). ).
According to the decision released on Wednesday (15), the Superior Court of Bogotá ordered both candidates to “request and jointly schedule, until Thursday, June 16, 2022, the holding of a presidential debate in the of public media”.
The court made the decision after considering an appeal by a group of lawyers asking Hernández to agree to a meeting with the senator and former guerrilla. Debates are “a candidate’s right to express their ideas, but at the same time a duty to the population,” the court said in the ruling.
After winning the second-best vote in the May 29 first round of elections, Hernández, the former mayor of Bucaramanga, in the north of the country, refused to participate in debates, calling them “polarizing and hateful”. As an alternative, he exposes his proposals on social media, the central platform of his campaign.
María Ángela Robledo, linked to Petro’s candidacy, led the lawsuit. “Today I ask Mr. Rodolfo Hernández to comply with it, as a democratic gesture for citizens,” wrote the former deputy on Twitter. On the same social network, Petro said he was ready to comply with the order. Hernandez did not comment.
Close to the vote of the first round, the leftist also stopped going to some debates, as, according to him, protest for an alleged fraud against the forces that support him in the legislative elections in March.
Now, in the final stretch, the candidates are trying to win votes from those who abstained in the first round, 45% of voters, in addition to the young and undecided. The polls show a technical tie. Next Sunday, Petro, who had 40.3% of the votes on the 29th, will face Hernández, who in the days before the first round surpassed the initially best-rated names and was the option of 28.2% of the electorate.
Last Thursday (9), Hernández canceled his public activities saying that his life is at risk. A police spokesman said he had no information about threats against the populist, but that the police were investigating the case. The former mayor runs a campaign based on an anti-corruption speech and a strong presence on social networks, with live broadcasts over the internet.
In May, his opponent also canceled public events. Petro suspended schedules after denouncing an alleged attempted murder, organized by the group La Cordillera – at the time, he would have meetings in the region known as Eixo Cafeeiro. Afterwards, the candidate received security reinforcement and even held rallies protected by bulletproof structures.
