The 10 things you have to know
1- The four main candidates, the only ones with real chances of victory –although the polls show them very far from each other- have a past of successful mayors. In Colombia, the mayor’s offices are strong positions and a huge showcase. In fact, all analysts consider that the second most important position in the country, after the presidency, is the mayor of Bogotá..
Gustavo Petro he was mayor of Bogotá; Sergio Fajardo and Federico Gutiérrez from Medellín, and Rodolfo Hernández, from Bucaramanga.
2- In the four main formulas there are two women, both as candidates for vice: the environmentalist and feminist France Marquez accompanies Petro, after having won the place by the surprising vote he achieved in the inter-party consultations in March: 785,000 votes. Black, a participant in the peace talks with the FARC, distinguished with several international awards, Márquez appears as one of the surprises of the process.
And he supports Hernández la caleña Marelen Castillo Torresengineer, graduate in Biology and Chemistry, master in Business Administration and Management and doctor in Education.
Another woman completes one of the testimonial presentation formulas, according to the scant support provided by the polls: Sandra de las Lajas Torres Paz escort to John Milton Rodriguezof Free Fair Colombia.
3- Contrary to a deeply rooted custom in Latin America, and very strong in Argentina, none of the four central candidates is a lawyer: Petro is an economist; Hernández and Gutiérrez are civil engineers (in the case of the Team for Colombia candidate, he is also an urban planner) and Fajardo is a mathematician.
4- The 1991 Constitution established that the election of the President and Vice President be by absolute majority, that is, by half plus one of the votes. If no formula manages to exceed that threshold, the two most voted forces will have to contest a second electoral round three weeks later.
5- The Colombian political system exhibits high fragmentation, with dozens of parties and movements. Each alliance that will participate on Sunday is made up of at least seven or eight seals, many with parliamentary representation. But, in addition, a 1994 law allows the registration of independent candidacies, from the collection of signatures. It was the mechanism that made Hernández an applicant.
6- The rarity of this process is given by the fact that the Democratic Center (CD), the force in government since 2018, does not have a candidate nor has it announced its support for any. And not Radical Change (CR), usual ally of the ruling party. CD will have 15 representatives and 13 senators in the new Congress, and CR 16 and 11, respectively.
7- At the end of September 2020, the National Registry -which organizes part of the electoral process- counted 31 committees registered to promote independent candidacies and 30 applicants from parties or movements. The list was refined and the inter-party consultations in March also got several leaders out of the way. The last two casualties were that of the applicant from Colombia Piensa en Grande, Luis Perezon May 11, and that of Ingrid Betancourtcandidate for Verde Oxígeno, on Friday the 20th. The final list of those seeking to reach the head of state is only six candidates.
8- Tension: A Colombian narco-paramilitary group known as Águilas Negras has added in recent hours a strong share of tension in the electoral climate in the country and, especially, in the Valle del Cauca area, where Cali is located, with a threat public to those who support the presidential formula of the Historical Pact, made up of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez.
9- Colombia will deploy more than 300,000 military and police personnel and will close the land and river borders tomorrow, to safeguard the security of the presidential elections.
10- According to all the polls, Petro is comfortable first in the preferences of the electorate, although with little chance of winning in the first round, followed quite far behind by Gutiérrez or Hernández and, with less than 10 percent support, Fajardo.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
