Colombia’s Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) said Sunday it has received 285 complaints of voting irregularities in the country’s presidential elections.
The report, the second of several scheduled to be sent out over the course of the first round election, chronicles such alleged problems as a lack of “necessary” support from government authorities at electoral booths, absence of electoral jurors at polling tables, and claims of illegal political propaganda being disseminated outside polling stations.
The second report tallied 285 complaints, an average of 38 hourly, up from the 59 received in the first report, and covers the time frame from 7 am and 2 pm.
85 reports mentioned a breach of electoral procedures by authorities, especially in the cities of Ibague, Cartagena, Bogota, and Cali.
80 reports identified problems with polling stations, mainly due to difficulties in admission to them, of which 29 % (23 reports) refered to problems with bio metric identification.
There were 71 reports of illegal advertising which could be found around polling stations and in some cases within them.
Additionally, there were 43 reports of actions affecting the freedom of citizens at the time of voting, either by buying votes or by pressure from third parties.
MOE, which seeks to increase transparency and assure voting rights during Election Day, has electoral observers located in 437 municipalities across 31 states throughout Colombia.
MORE: These are the resources Colombian voters can use to report election irregularities
In addition to the MOE report, Colombia’s Inspector Generals Office has received 102 complaints regarding electoral irregularities.
The most complaints originated from Bogota, Antioquia and Valle del Cauca in central and western Colombia respectively, according to the Inspector General’s Office.
Procuraduría recibió 102 denuncias durante jornada para elegir presidente y vicepresidente de la República http://t.co/WKcQ0tEE83 @ELTIEMPO
— Procuraduría General (@PGN_COL) May 25, 2014
Polls in Colombia closed officially at 4PM, and current results have Zuluaga ahead on 29%, with Santos behind on 25%, with more than 99% of votes counted.
MORE: Colombia 2014 presidential election results
Sources
- Procuraduría recibió 102 denuncias durante la jornada para elegir presidente y vicepresidente de la República (Procuradoria General de la Nacion)
