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OAS Electoral Observation Mission Greets the Colombian People after the Legislative Elections on Sunday, March 13

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS), headed by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay Eladio Loizaga, greets the people of Colombia following the legislative elections and inter-party consultations last Sunday 13 of March.

The Mission celebrates the peaceful environment in which the elections were held in most of the country and the civic commitment of those who turned out to vote, while regretting the incidents that took place in Meta and Caquetá, which caused the death of two soldiers. The Mission also highlights the work of the authorities and officials of the different electoral institutions that made possible the successful organization of the elections in a context still marked by the pandemic.

The OAS Mission, which arrived in the country in a staggered manner as of March 4, was made up of 22 specialists of 10 different nationalities. Combining a face-to-face and virtual work methodology, the Mission followed up on key aspects of the process and the recommendations issued by previous OAS Missions.

During its stay in Colombia, the Mission held meetings with electoral authorities, government officials, representatives of various political forces, and civil society actors to hear their opinions. Colombia has a robust and recognized national observation system through the non-governmental organization "Electoral Observation Mission (MOE)", which provides additional guarantees to the electoral system.

Based on these meetings, the analysis of legislation and other documents, and direct observation, the OAS Mission carried out a comprehensive analysis of the electoral process and issued recommendations aimed at strengthening Colombian electoral processes. Preliminary observations and recommendations are contained in the report that presented today.

These legislative elections took place in an unprecedented context due to the inclusion of special transitory constituencies for peace (CITREP) for the House of Representatives. The Mission highlights that the CITREP represent an important advance to promote the participation and political representation of populations that have historically been affected by the armed conflict in the country. The Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia (MAPP/OAS), headed by Roberto Menéndez, monitored and accompanied the development of the electoral day in the 16 CITREPs on election day, with a focus on security conditions and guarantees for political participation. The complementary work between the Electoral Observation Mission and the MAPP of the OAS is an example of the Organization's commitment to peace and Colombian democracy.

On the day of the elections, the Mission visited different voting centers in the city of Bogotá and observed the day from the opening of the tables to the counting and transmission of results. He was also present at the Unified Command Post (PMU) of the Ministry of the Interior and at the Operations Center of the Immediate Reception Unit for Electoral Transparency (URIEL). After the polls closed, the experts observed the work of the scrutiny commissions and the processing of the results of the pre-count.

The Mission observed an election day that passed calmly in most of the national territory. However, it was informed that URIEL received multiple complaints related to vote buying during election day. This is a harmful practice that the Mission has observed in previous elections in Colombia. The Mission reiterates the need to confront this problem in a coordinated manner, through different institutions, to achieve its elimination.

For these elections, the electoral authorities made changes to the ballots for both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Simplifying the ballot was a recommendation from previous OAS Missions. This year, the Mission learned that the null votes in the elections for representatives to the House were reduced by more than 4 percentage points compared to 2018 and by almost 2 percentage points in the Senate elections compared to the same year.

The Mission also welcomes the implementation of technological tools to facilitate different processes related to the election. However, the Mission was aware of the operational problems that the “Infovotante” service presented in its two modalities: in the application and on the Registry's website. The RNEC reported that the origin of the failures lay in an unusual demand for consultations to the census of voters since the early hours of March 13 and that the incident is still is under investigation.

The Mission highlights that on the night of the election, citizens had timely information about the preliminary results issued by the RNEC. Colombia enjoys one of the fastest preliminary results systems in the region, which generates positive effects for the electoral process, among them, minimizing the use and dissemination of exit polls, avoiding self-proclamations based on unofficial information and keeps the public informed.

Likewise, the Mission welcomes the fact that the various candidates have spoken in a respectful manner and recognized the official results. However, he regrets the high rates of abstentionism, which indicate that less than 50% of the Colombian electorate participated. Despite this, the results also reflect the plurality of the political system in this country, which allows citizens to choose between several political options.

The Mission acknowledges the efforts made by the National Electoral Council (CNE) to facilitate and promote the use of the Cuentas Claras platform, and especially highlights the establishment of the administrative obligation of all political organizations and candidates to report their income and expenses. during the campaign. However, the Mission observed that the percentage of compliance with this report continues to be low, which is why it urges the authorities and candidates to promote greater accountability.

Notwithstanding the important advance that the creation of the CITREP represents, the Mission noted with concern that the majority of those who ran in these constituencies were unable to access the advances from public financing necessary to finance their campaigns. The Mission highlights the importance that these candidacies be supported through public financing modalities that are adjusted to their reality.

The OAS Mission highlights the increase in the number of women who registered a candidacy for these legislative elections. Although these figures represent an important advance compared to previous elections, it is clear that Colombia has a long way to go to achieve effective parity in political representation positions.

The Mission appreciates the initiative of the CNE to adopt a protocol in 2021 to prevent and address cases of violence against women in politics. However, it is necessary to have a legal mechanism to address this problem.

The Mission thanks the Government of Colombia, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Electoral Council, the National Registry of Civil Status, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, the political groups, the candidates, the academic and civil society organizations, and other actors with whom he met for their openness and willingness to share their perspectives on the different aspects of the electoral process. These were essential inputs for the work carried out by the OAS Mission and contributed to its success.

Likewise, it thanks the governments of Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, and Peru for the financial contributions that made this Mission possible. The Mission will return to national territory to observe the presidential elections.

Reference: E-011/22