United States Secretary of State John Kerry congratulated the reelection of Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos in an official press release on Sunday.
With Colombia’s presidential elections all in the bag, in which incumbent President Santos defeated hard-line opposition candidate Oscar Ivan Zuluaga by a margin of over 5%, the US Secretary of State congratulated Santos and praised the Colombian people for participating in a peaceful and orderly election.
MORE: Juan Manuel Santos reelected in Colombia’s presidential elections
“We congratulate President Santos on his victory, as well as the Colombian people and electoral officials on a peaceful and orderly election. We look forward to continuing to work with President Santos and his administration to advance our bilateral relationship and to continuing to support the Colombian Government and people as they pursue a negotiated end to the conflict there,” said Kerry in the press release.
Colombia’s second round of presidential elections on Sunday saw a 7% increase in voter turnout as compared to the first roundwhen 60% of the potential electorate abstained from voting.
MORE: Voter turnout in Colombia’s 2nd round election up 7 percentage points
Overall, 15.7 million Colombians exercised their rights to vote while 17.2 million still chose to stay at home.
“The United States and Colombia share a long history of successful partnership, anchored by a commitment to democracy and the rule of law, peace and citizen security, and trade and economic opportunity. My recent visit underlined our long-standing cooperation and commitment to Colombia. The Colombian people will continue to thrive with the next administration,” said Kerry.
Sunday’s presidential election was the safest in recent history, according to the Ministry of Defense, which recorded no acts of terrorism against voters.
MORE: Colombia’s election most quiet and safe in recent history: govt
Sources
- Elections in Colombia (US Secretary of State)
