An NGO monitoring Colombia’s local elections said Monday a large majority of mayoral candidates have ties to convicted criminal politicians or paramilitary groups.
The announcement was made following an investigation by NGO Nuevo Arco Iris into the possibility of corruption in the upcoming October elections, to be held this Sunday.
Nuevo Arco Iris, a non-governmental organization committed to democratization and modernization in Colombia, said that “parapolitics” continues to be a major issue throughout Colombia.
The announcement undermines ongoing and highly publicized attempts by political parties to purge any members or candidates who have been linked to paramilitary groups.
According to a report by Caracol Radio, Nuevo Arco Iris has identified seven major problem zones, where the risk of influence from illegal armed gangs, corruption from local politicians or electoral fraud is extremely high.
According to Leon Valencia, the director of the NGO, the high risk zones are Arauca, Casanare, Magdalena, La Guajira, Sucre, Cordoba and Valle De Cauca.
Valencia and the head of the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) have called for the condemnation and punishment of any political parties that supported political candidates with proven legal problems.
The Electoral Observation Mission also revealed Monday that this election period had been one of the most violent in recent years.
According to the MOE, 158 political candidates have been the victim of some kind of political violence during this election period including 41 candidates who have been murdered.
