Colombia’s Interior Minister German Vargas Lleras reminded Medellin’s mayor Tuesday that politicians are forbidden from intervening in local elections.
The interior minister made the warnings in relation to the accusations made by the current mayor, Alonso Salazar, against one of the mayoral candidates Luis Perez, of having ties to criminal groups.
Vargas Lleras argued that it is not possible to intervene in the election process for ethical reasons and that any politician who does so will be the subject of a disciplinary sanction.
Salazar has said that his possible interference with the election process was ethical, due to the fact that he did it for the good of the city.
The interior minister responded to Salazar’s justifications, by saying “ethical intervention does not exist.” Vargas Lleras went on to say that acting politicians are not allowed to make value judgements when it comes to the political participation of officials.
An electoral law prohibits officials from distributing any kind of propaganda, for or against, any party through print, official television stations, or public radio.
The Inspector General’s Office opened an investigation into the current Medellin mayor for his alleged illegal involvement in the electoral process.
According to the Inspector General, the actions of the current mayor “had no other purpose than to influence the activities of candidates, to affect their image, to turn the opinion of the voters against them and to damage them in the elections.”
Salazar issued a statement backed by a number of photographs in early October detailing a network of paramilitary support for candidate Luis Perez. He went on to make a number of accusations, linking Perez with recently murdered gang leader Efrain Maldonado, alias “Don Efra.”