Clara Lopez, the presidential candidate of the leftist Polo Democratico (Democratic Pole – PDA) said she is embarrassed by the “dirty campaigns” of her competitors in the upcoming Colombian elections, Juan Manuel Santos and Oscar Ivan Zuluaga.
In an interview with Bogota’s Blu Radio on Tuesday morning, Lopez did not hide her dissatisfaction with the ongoing election and said she felt “embarrased” by the nature of the campaigns.
“I’ve cringed to think that these two people [Santos and Zuluaga] who are so lofty in society are both launching similar allegations of a criminal nature,” she said in the interview.
International astonishment
Lopez added that she felt uncomfortable by the levels of judicial involvement in the election, concerning the possible prosecution of Zuluaga over the hacking scandal.
She highlighted the international community as being particularly concerned by the dirty nature of the way in which the elections has been unfolding as scandal after scandal rocks the campaigns of Zuluaga and Santos.
“At the international level, I’ve heard statements from ex ambassadors of other countries in Colombia who have shown astonishment at the low levels to which the campaign has descended,” she said.
An explosive series of mutual accusations
BBC Mundo ran a story on Monday calling Colombia’s election, “the dirtiest” in the country’s history.
The article describes the battle between Zuluaga and Santos as, “an explosive series of mutual accusations.”
In recent weeks both Santos and Zuluaga have been embroiled in a series of scandals.
MORE: Santos accuses Zuluaga of running ‘criminal campaign’
Santos accused Zuluaga of running a “criminal campaign” in light of the recent video confirming the links between Zuluaga and hacker Andres Sepulveda.
The video emerged on Saturday showing the hacker arrested for spying on Colombia’s peace talks, informing Zuluaga about what appears to be illegally obtained US military intelligence information.
MORE: Zuluaga directly involved with illegal wiretapping, caught on video
As a result there have been calls for Zuluaga to renounce his candidacy, and he faces the possibility of a prosecution.
MORE: Prosecution to decide on possible Zuluaga probe after hearing aides in spying scandal
MORE: Uribe-loyal election candidate called to ‘immediately’ resign after video reveals spy links
The campaign of incumbent President Santos meanwhile has itself not been without controversy. His campaign manager J.J. Rendon was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had received $12 million from drug traffickers to negotiate “favorable” terms for their surrender.
MORE: Santos’ spin doctor resigns after allegation he received drug money