Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos has decided to skip the candidate debates leading up to the presidential election on May 25 reported El Espectador Thursday.
Colombia’s incumbent President Juan Manuel Santos reportedly revealed Thursday that he did not have plans to attend any of the presidential debates.
“For me it is difficult to go to any debates because I am also president and I have to govern,” El Espectador reported the Colombian head of state as saying.
Santos’s decision to avoid the debates is likely to irritate other presidential candidates, particularly Oscar Zuluaga of the Democratic Center party who is slowly gaining in presidential polls. In an April 1 poll Zuluaga had 12% of the vote to Santos’ 23%.
In the same poll Enrique Peñalosa actually had 14% of the poll but he was also absent from the last debate. It is unclear whether Peñalosa intends to attend future debates.
MORE: 2014 Colombia presidential election polls
In 2006’s presidential elections incumbent Alvaro Uribe reportedly chose to skip the presidential debates but still proved victorious in his re-election bid said Pulzo news.
Santos left room to change his mind if his absence from debates causes him problems before May’s elections saying, “I do not know if I will go to one or two debates but at this time I do not plan to do it.”
Sources
- Santos, el candidato presidencial que no va a los debates (El Espectador)
- Ausencia de Santos y Peñalosa en debates: ¿estrategia exitosa o ‘un tiro en el pie’? (Pulzo)
