The Colombian Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) and the opposition Liberal Party on Monday urged the country’s inspector general to investigate accusations that government officials illegally take part in campaigns, and that drug and state money is used to finance campaigns.
According to MOE director Alejandra Barrios there have been many complaints about government officials supporting Congressional candidates, as well as allegations about drug money being used to finance the campaigns of some parties.
In an interview with radio station Caracol, the director of the MOE, an NGO supported by the UN Democracy Fund, asked Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez to speak out about the allegations and to investigate possible election fraud before and not after the March 14 Congressional elections.
Liberal Party leader Rafael Pardo agrees with the MOE and asked Ordoñez to prevent a scandal like that of “parapolitics,” which caused the suspension of at least 80 lawmakers under investigation of ties to paramilitary groups.
“The next scandal we will have in Colombian politics is that of the financing of this campaign. Four years ago we said there was an alliance between politicians and paramilitaries, and look what happened. Now we are proving that money from the departmental and national government is financing politics,” Pardo told the radio station.
According to the Liberal Party, the government of the Valle del Cauca department is paying for the billboards of candidates of the new ADN party. Former ambassador and aspiring senator for ADN, Carlos Moreno, denied fraud and surprisingly announced that he has “a faggot in South Africa who is in love with me and is sending me money.“