In its official report, Colombian NGO the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) recognized a drop in irregularities in Colombia’s first round presidential elections, in comparison with the nation’s March congressional elections.
2,302 accredited MOE officials observed Sunday’s elections in 299 municipalities in 27 Colombian departments. According to MOE, there was a drop in electoral irregularities, with a total of 137 “incidents” reported to the NGO on election day.
MOE spokesman Fabian Hernandez told Colombia Reports that the NGO had received 17 reports of vote buying in the departments of Antioquia, Atlantico, Bogota, Bolivar, Caldas, Cordoba, Santander, Sucre, and Tolima.
Hernandez said that the identities of the parties buying the votes were unknown, and that the majority of reports were made to MOE’s free hotline.
MOE reported incidents of fraudulent voting, in which when citizens arrived to vote, they were told that “they” had already done so.
The Colombian NGO also reported an increase in guerrilla violence on election day, with 21 armed incidents reported in the departments of Valle del Cauca, Tolima, La Guajira, Bolivar and Cauca.