50.7% of Colombians who are eligible to vote abstained from voting in the first round of Colombia’s presidential elections on May 30. While government-candidate and favorite Juan Manuel Santos received support from former coalition partners and the controversial PIN party, Antanas Mockus aimed his arrows at the 15 million Colombians who saw no merit in voting in the first round.
Following the first round results, in which Santos received the support of 46.5% of the votes and his competitor Mockus received 21.5%, the government-candidate found himself endorsed by former coalition partners the Conservative Party and Cambio Radical and new and controversial PIN party, a political movement with close ties to politicians jailed for corruption and links to paramilitary groups that was able to receive some 10% of the votes in the March congressional elections.
Mockus, having turned down an alliance with socialist Polo Democratico, has been trying to convince those who didn’t vote on May 30 and consist of 50.7% of the Colombian electorate to take the effort to vote on Sunday.
Other politicians and social movements are trying to convince the Colombian electorate to abstain from voting or vote “none of the above.”
Liberal Party senator Piedad Cordoba called on Colombians to abstain from voting or turn in a blank vote.
A group of social organizations have called on Colombians to cast a blank vote, Jorge Rojas, director of CODHES, said on Caracol Radio. “It’s a real option, included in the legislation as a useful vote,” Rojas said.