Partido Liberal presidential candidate Rafael Pardo rejected the offer from Cambio Radical candidate German Vargas Lleras to form a coalition for the upcoming presidential elections in May.
Pardo said that the offer from his fellow liberal candidate is “not viable,” and ruled out the posibility that the two would come together under a coalition. “In this process, each one is with their own party … I consider it best that it’s every man for himself,” Pardo said on Thursday, reports El Espectador.
Lleras said earlier Thursday that given the poor ratings in recent polls for him and his fellow liberal candidate Rafael Pardo, it would beneficial for their causes to consider the possibility of uniting their parties in a coalition putting forward a single presidential candidate.
“I am seriously considering this possibility and I ask the Liberal Party to consider that idea,” Lleras said.
Lleras’ proposal to Pardo, although not a formal offer, comes after the release of a Gallup Poll on Wednesday asking Colombians who they would vote for if the elections were today. The polls showed Lleras with only 6.2% of the votes, and Pardo with 5.1%.
Prior to the release of the polls Lleras had publicly denied that he was considering a merger with Pardo’s liberal party.