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Viewing cable 07BOGOTA6948, COLOMBIA'S EFFORTS TO ENSURE FAIR ELECTIONS IN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07BOGOTA6948 2007-09-25 04:33 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Bogota
VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #6948/01 2680433
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD109F30 AMG4643-695)
P 250433Z SEP 07 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9089
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7762
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 9334
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ SEP 8927
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 5426
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA PRIORITY 0654
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 6025
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 4079
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS BOGOTA 006948 
 
SIPDIS 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY TEXT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KJUS PGOV PINR PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA'S EFFORTS TO ENSURE FAIR ELECTIONS IN 
SUCRE & CORDOBA 
 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
1.  During a pre-elections visit to Sucre and Cordoba 
departments, politicians, local authorities, and victims, 
groups all told us the safer environment created by the 
demobilization of paramilitaries resulted in a dramatic 
increase in the participation of newer political parties. 
However, some victims, groups and candidates said they still 
feel unsafe when conducting their campaigns because of 
activity by the FARC and new criminal groups in the area.  A 
culture of vote-buying persists, and questions remain about 
the sources of financing for some local campaigns.  To 
address these concerns and create the right environment for 
free and fair elections, the GOC and local authorities are 
investigating denouncements of fraud and corruption, 
providing protection to candidates, and monitoring polling 
places.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------- 
NEW SPACE FOR PARTICIPATION 
--------------------------- 
 
2.  Col. Jorge Rodriguez, the Commander on the National 
Police (CNP) in Sucre, said the demobilization of 
paramilitaries accomplished through Colombia,s Justice and 
Peace process created a much safer environment for political 
participation in an area formerly plagued by violence, 
extortions, and intimidation.  Uriel Toro at the national 
police office in Cordoba said the same was true for his 
department.  As a result, newer political parties like Polo 
Democratico Alternativo (PDA) are now openly opposing the 
traditional parties that have long held power in the region. 
Newer parties are differentiating themselves from elected 
officials that were arrested under charges of cooperation 
with former paramilitaries.  PDA's mayoral candidate in San 
Onofre, Adil Jose Melendez, said this is a dramatic change 
from previous elections, in which only one candidate, backed 
by paramilitary groups, ran for office, while nobody else 
dared to challenge him.  Alicia Pinzon, the current Registrar 
for elections in Cordoba, said this increased participation 
represents a major advance for democracy in the region. 
 
----------------- 
SOME FEAR REMAINS 
----------------- 
 
3.    Conservative Party Senator for Sucre, Julio Manzur, 
said intimidation and threats no longer exist in his 
department, but Melendez said conducts his campaign under 
fear of reprisals from new criminal groups that are active in 
the area. Melendez said those new criminal groups have great 
interest in the local elections because the winner will have 
the power to enforce controls along a major route used for 
the illegal narcotics trade (or to look the other way). 
Alvaro Emiro Petro, the PDA candidate for Governor in 
Cordoba, said that while he had not received any direct 
threats from new criminal groups, people working on his 
campaign and running on the PDA ticket for city council in 
Sincelejo had received written threats from the new criminal 
group that calls itself the Aguilas Negras.  Patricia 
Rodriguez, Director of the Organization of American States, 
Special Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS) in 
Monteria, said a political organizer who was recruiting 
campesinos to campaign for Alberto Lizardo Gomez Revollo, the 
Liberal candidate for mayor of San Onofre, was killed in a 
rural area outside of San Onofre.  She said his killers were 
probably FARC guerrillas who opposed Revollo.  Jackeline 
Moguea, a victims' group leader and candidate for the City 
Council of San Onofre said local people report feeling 
intimidated by former paramilitaries who are now working as 
campaigners, since their history of violence is well-known in 
the area. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
CULTURE OF VOTE-BUYING, CORRUPTION PERSISTS 
------------------------------------------- 
 
4.  Bishop and community leader Nel Beltran said extreme 
poverty in the region, coupled with a general lack of 
education about the democratic process, has created a culture 
 
in which people look to politicians for handouts.  PDA 
candidate Luis Benitez said the traditional party candidates 
distribute bags of cement, food, and even cash at the main 
marketplaces in Monteria.  Campaign workers for Liberal Party 
candidate for Mayor of Monteria, Juan Carlos Lengua, admitted 
keeping petty cash on hand at their campaign headquarters and 
distributing small sums of money to about 300 campesinos per 
day.  They also said they keep a physician on hand to tend to 
the peoples' health needs during campaign season, but claimed 
none of these benefits obligated people to vote for them. 
One campaign worker said all the parties distribute these 
benefits as "demonstrations that they care," and claimed that 
any candidate who did not do so would come in last.  For this 
reason, few expect newer parties with less resources to 
capture a large percentage of the vote. 
 
5.  Petro said his campaign simply does not have the funds to 
compete with his wealthy opponents from traditional parties. 
He claimed the Liberals and Conservatives in Monteria were 
outspending his campaign by ten to one on publicity, not 
counting the additional cash payments and other goods they 
are distributing.  PDA representatives also claimed the local 
newspaper, ZZZ, refused to sell them advertising space or 
give them any kind of coverage.  Melendez said he must 
conduct his campaign on foot, as he doesn't have funds for a 
car.  Both of these PDA candidates said the first goal of 
their campaign is to convince people they should vote for 
candidates based on their platforms, rather than their 
pocketbooks. 
 
6.  Questions also remain about the financing of some local 
campaigns.  A September 9 article in Colombia's leading daily 
newspaper, El Tiempo, reported that several candidates in 
Cordoba and Sucre are receiving political (and possibly 
financial) support from former officials who have been jailed 
because of suspicion of links with former paramilitaries. 
The article accused the jailed officials of trying to 
hand-pick their successors in order to continue exerting 
influence in the region.  U party candidate Jorge Carlos 
Barraza did not deny meeting with jailed officials, claiming 
it was his "Christian duty" to visit those in prison. 
Liberal party candidate for Governor of Cordoba, Marta Saenz 
even published a full-page ad in the local newspaper stating 
her alliance with the jailed Cordoba officials.  She told us 
she believed them to be innocent of any wrong-doing and that 
there was nothing wrong with receiving support from them, 
since they have not yet been proven guilty. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
GOC TAKES STEPS TO ENSURE FAIR ELECTIONS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
7.  PDA and U Party candidates accused incumbents of using 
government subsidies to obtain votes by threatening people 
they would lose their unemployment or housing benefits if 
there was a change in the ruling party.  However, ZZZ at the 
Inspector General's office (Procuraduria) in Monteria, said 
she had received no official denouncements of such activity. 
She said the Procuraduria will investigate any official 
denouncements it receives regarding government officials 
currently in office, while the Attorney General's office 
(Fiscalia) investigates all claims of vote-buying by aspiring 
candidates. 
 
8.  The national police in both Sucre and Cordoba said they 
collaborate with local military forces to organize security 
for political candidates while they are campaigning.  Col. 
Rodriguez said the police accompany candidates when they 
travel to smaller towns, and coordinate with the military to 
provide increased protection.  Toro, like Rodriguez said his 
office is committed to keeping the candidates safe during 
elections, and that so far, there have been so problems 
regarding the candidates. 
 
9.    In order to assure unbiased enforcement of voting 
procedures, the National Registrar re-assigned local 
registrars from their home departments to posts in other 
departments.  These newly arrived registrars are currently 
training elections workers to be vigilant for voting fraud 
and to enforce strict controls.  Each registrar's office will 
be checking records to ensure that everyone votes only in 
their designated district.  In order to avoid complaints that 
 
people are using cell phone cameras to take photos of their 
ballot and receive payments later for their votes, the 
registrars will be requiring all cell phones be turned off 
before entering the voting booth. 
 
10.  Also in order to investigate charges of illicit funding 
and over-spending in political campaigns, the National 
Elections Commission assigned three special magistrates to 
each department to analyze financial records of all political 
campaigns.  These new investigative units were created on 
August. 28, 2006, and they plan to issue reports of their 
findings every month.  The three magistrates recently 
assigned to Sucre said it may be difficult to reach any 
conclusions prior to the October 28 elections, but they will 
report any evidence they do find.  These new measures 
demonstrate the new level of commitment the GOC is placing on 
ensuring free and fair elections in October. 
 
 
 
 
 
Brownfield