The National Electoral Council (CNE) barred Colombia’s leading presidential candidate, Senator Ivan Cepeda, from participating in a multipartite primary that sought to unite the left ahead of the elections.
The decision forced Cepeda’s party, the Historic Pact, to withdraw from the primary and unleashed a new wave of criticism about the politicized nature of the electoral court.
In a video, the senator rejected the CNE decision, calling it “arbitrary,.. contrary to law and openly antidemocratic.”
This is an arbitrary decision, contrary to the law and openly antidemocratic. It violates not only the rights of the candidate, in this case my rights as a political leader, but also those of the Historic Pact political party and the rights of millions of people who participated in our consultation.
Senator Ivan Cepeda
Cepeda added that he will participate in the first round of the presidential elections in May without the support of the coalition that sought to unite their forces behind the winner of the primary in March.
I will register in the next few days to run in the first round, and there we will defeat our opponents, to whom we say that we understand their fears and concerns. Since they cannot defeat us in democratic political debate, since they have not been able to defeat us at the polls, they resort to tricks, ruses, and maneuvers that are clearly anti-democratic.
Senator Ivan Cepeda
The senator criticized a second CNE decision, which revoked his party’s list of House of Representatives candidates for Bogota, the capital district.
The electoral court, which is made up of representatives of the political parties, has been a major obstacle for the left’s most recent efforts to unite and form a single party from the parties that currently form the government coalition in Congress.
Outgoing President Gustavo Petro, called the CNE’s most recent decisions “a profound blow against the constitution and democracy.”
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