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Parliamentary elections in Colombia: tens of thousands of soldiers were deployed to ensure security at the ballot box
Photo: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP
The parliamentary elections in Colombia are overshadowed by several attacks: At least two soldiers died in bomb attacks on the day of the vote.
The two men were killed in an explosion in Caquetá and Meta departments on Sunday, the armed forces said.
Two other soldiers were injured in the attacks.
It was initially unclear who was behind the attacks.
Guerrilla groups, paramilitaries and criminal gangs are active in the South American country.
A total of 73,000 soldiers were deployed in Colombia on Sunday to protect voters and candidates.
The election upended 188 seats in the House of Representatives and 108 seats in the Senate – some reserved for certain groups and minorities.
Six years after the peace agreement between the government and the left-wing guerrilla organization FARC, the victims of the decades-long civil war in the South American country should now also be represented in Congress.
In the vote, 16 seats in the House of Representatives were earmarked for them.
The former members of the FARC rebels have had guaranteed seats in parliament since 2018.
Mood test for presidential election
The election on Sunday was also considered a mood test for the presidential election in the South American country on May 29th.
According to initial results, the left-wing electoral alliance Pacto Histórico positioned itself as the strongest force in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, ahead of the Conservatives and the Liberal Party.
The ex-guerrilla and former mayor of the capital Bogotá, Gustavo Petro, won the nominations within the party as the Pacto Histórico candidate.
According to polls, the 61-year-old is also the favorite in the presidential elections.
He will run against Federico Gutiérrez, who won the Conservative primaries, and Sergio Fajardo, who will run for the centre.
Former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt officially registered as a candidate for the Green Party a few days ago, 20 years after her kidnapping.
The current head of state, Ivan Duque, is no longer allowed to stand because the constitution does not provide for re-election.
For more than 50 years, Colombia suffered from a bloody civil war that left around 220,000 dead and millions displaced.
After the largest guerrilla organization FARC officially laid down its arms following a peace agreement with the government in 2016, the security situation has improved, but large parts of the country are still controlled by criminal groups.
According to the Institute for Development and Peace (Indepaz), 152 social leaders and human rights activists were killed in Colombia last year.
asc/dpa