Less than 2 of 10 living abroad have voted in Colombia presidential elections

Candidate profiles Juan Manuel Santos Oscar Ivan Zuluaga Enrique Peñalosa Clara Lopez Marta Lucia Ramirez Full election coverage Election polls

MORE: Early presidential voting opens for Colombians living abroad

MORE: 1st complaint comes in after Colombians abroad begin voting

MOE calls for Colombians living abroad to use the last hours available to them to go and vote.

“We want Colombians abroad to go vote. The effort is very large and it is remarkable that many people are not going to vote,” said Barrios.

MORE: All early election results are false: Foreign Affairs Ministry

Barrios went on to explain that the significant costs of administering foreign elections are being wasted given the low turnout.

Ultimately, concluded Barrios, in an interview with RCN Radio, high foreign abstention rates should be a topic of concern and reflection within Colombia.

“We regret that this happened, but we think it should lead to a political debate about why participation is so low in these elections,” said Barrios.

Sources

• Abstención de más del 80 % en las elecciones del exterior (Caracol)
• MOE revela que abstencionismo en elecciones presidenciales alcanza el 87% en el exterior (RCN)