Representatives of the international community in Colombia on Thursday appealed to the various armed organizations operating in the country to declare a “ceasefire” to ensure the smooth conduct of the spring parliamentary and presidential elections.
“We call on all armed groups in Colombia to declare a ceasefire, to ‘suspend hostilities,'” said a joint statement issued by representatives of 23 states and the United Nations in the country.
Despite the peace agreement signed in 2016 by the then government and the former Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), the violence has escalated in several parts of the Andes, mainly due to the involvement of armed groups in drug trafficking and conflict. between them for its control and for territorial sovereignty.
“It is important that Colombia be able to hold free and fair elections in a non-violent environment,” said the text, co-signed by the ambassadors of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, including European countries, as well as Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.
Nearly 39 million of Colombia’s 50 million people are going to the polls on March 13 to renew the composition of the right-wing parliament.
On May 29, they will elect the successor to Conservative President Ivan Duque, who has no right to run for re-election. A run-off is likely on June 19. Colombian left-wing candidate Gustavo Petro is currently considered a favorite, according to opinion polls, although throughout its modern history, the country has been ruled by the right.
Mr Duque’s government has said it will provide “full guarantees” for the smooth running of the election process.
But the resurgence of violence in various parts of the country raises concerns about interventions, to influence the upcoming elections by armed groups.
According to a Colombian NGO, 28% of Colombian municipalities may be fraudulent or fraudulent due to pressure from armed groups.
About a quarter of the country (274 municipalities) are also facing a “high” as “extreme” risk in the elections due to the “action of illegal armed organizations”, also warned the office of the Ombudsman, an independent authority responsible for defending human rights .
In 2021, some 74,000 people were forced to flee their homes due to violence, a number that has risen by 181% year on year, according to the UN.
Rebels, armed groups and drug traffickers have historically influenced the outcome of Colombia’s electoral process, especially in remote areas where the state apparatus is virtually absent. Corruption and vote-buying are, after all, recurring phenomena in local elections.
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