Conservative Party presidential candidate Noemi Sanin denied Wednesday that in a closed party meeting she accused Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus of stealing her ideas, reports El Tiempo.
“The policies that Antanas Mockus and I shared in the ’98 [presidential elections] are the ones that I still have. They are my set policies and I will never abandon them. They are shared policies that I understand that Antanas Mockus defends and shares, just like us,” Sanin said.
Sanin’s statment follows claims by Conservative congressmen that Sanin complained about Mockus using her ideas, during a six-hour meeting.
Mockus, who is currently second in the presidential race, according to recent polls, overtook Sanin in the popularity stakes several weeks ago.
Sanin also clarified that she will not make alliances in the first round of elections and would not be bullied into doing so.
Conservative congressman and Sanin supporter Hernando Pedraza said it was important for the party to remain united.
“If we keep on fighting, the Greens are going to beat us,” he told the Colombian press.
Sanin’s campaign has been plagued by party in-fighting, with many supporters of pre-candidate Andres Felipe Arias jumping ship and joining the campaign of Partido de la U’s Juan Manuel Santos.
Lucas Cañas, a member of the Conservative Party directorate, publically proposed Wednesday morning that his party support Santos’ campaign.
“If there are Conservatives who want to move to help Santos’ campaign, they should go,” was Sanin’s response.
However the Conservative Party statute forbids party members from supporting other parties or political movements.
Fifteen Conservative Party senators met with Santos on Tuesday evening to discuss the possibility of joining his campaign.
The senators said they were concerned about Sanin’s drop the polls, as well as her “hostile attitude” during a live debate between presidential candidates held last Sunday.
Arias has not backed Sanin in her presidential campaign after losing to her in the primaries, and the two have publically clashed.
Almost 100 Conservative Party members have already jumped ship and moved to Santos’ camp.
Colombia will go to the polls May 30 to elect a new president. If one candidate does not win outright with a “50% plus one” share of the vote, then the two candidates who receive the highest number of votes will move onto a second round of elections.