Second report Election Observation Mission – MOE Elections to the presidency of the republic second round

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Jun 19, 2022

During the election day, continuous reports were presented regarding the presence of points or marks on the ballots due to their printing characteristics. This situation, confirmed in some departments by the regional coordinators of MOE, has generated special attention both among citizens and in the campaigns in contention. MOE reiterates the call to the electoral jurors and electoral witnesses to guarantee that the ballots express the intention of the citizen, who marked the box of his/her preference and the meaning of this vote.

Bogotá, June 19, 2022. The Electoral Observation Mission – MOE of the civil society of Colombia, delivers to the authorities, media, organizations and interested citizens, the Second Observation Report, corresponding to the closing of the electoral day of the elections to the Presidency of the Republic, Second Round 2022. This report includes what was reported by the 2,381 electoral observers deployed in 1 of each 3 municipalities in Colombia, as well as in 39 consulates in 24 countries.

MOE has deployed 364 international observers, 91 of them observing in Colombia, in 13 municipalities of 12 departments, including Bogotá. Abroad, 271 observers were deployed in 39 consulates in 24 countries, 7 of them in Europe, 15 in Latin America and in the United States and Canada.

MOE conducted an observation aimed at evidencing the different and multiple obstacles faced by the population with disabilities, for this it had a team of 42 observers with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. Likewise, 39 trans people participated who observed the implementation of the Transvoters Protocol.

This report includes what was observed from 11:00 am to 3:30 pm. MOE has also communicated with both campaigns that are participating in these elections. Their reports of irregularities have been included in this report.

Among the highlights are:

1. ELECTORAL IRREGULARITIES

The Electoral Observation Mission – MOE has made available to citizens the www.pilasconelvoto.com platform and the WhatsApp line 315 266 19 69 to report any type of irregularity or electoral crime.

Through these channels, MOE has received between 12:01 am of June 18 and 3:30 pm of June 19, a total of 310 reports on irregularities and electoral crimes in 85 municipalities that correspond to 26 departments and Bogotá. The departments with the highest reports are Antioquia (49 reports), Valle del Cauca (34 reports), Atlántico (22 reports), Risaralda (13 reports) and Bogotá (73 reports).

● Effects on the freedom to vote

MOE has received 83 reports that affect the freedom to vote. Of which the phenomenon of Vote Buying is the main irregularity with 26 same reports, that mostly come from Bogotá, Cartagena, Barranquilla and Medellín. On this issue, citizens have reported the delivery of money, food, and the mobilization of people to the polling stations.

Another of the reported behaviors, with 31 reports, is the constraint on the voter, that is, any type pf pressures or threats that are exerted on the voters. As mentioned in the first observation report of these elections, these pressures and threats have occurred in the workplace, most of which have been directed by private companies in which their employees are forced and/or invited to vote for a certain campaign. This situation has been registered in some municipalities such as Sincelejo, Ibagué, Yumbo and Cali, Valle del Cauca and in the capital of the country.

● Problems with electoral material

There were numerous reports of problems with the printing of ballots. According to the information reported by the citizens, in some voting card’s dots or stripes were found in the blank vote box, generating multiple suspicions about the impact that may be had on the counting of votes at the time of determining the validity or nullity of the vote.

This same situation was reported by the regional coordinators of: MOE – Magdalena Medio (municipalities of Cantagallo in Bolívar and Barrancabermeja in Santander); MOE Valle del Cauca (Cali); MOE Santander (Bucaramanga); and the coordinators of Risaralda; Cesar; Antioquia; Quindío (Armenia); Nariño and Comuneros (San Gil).

2. EVENTS OF PUBLIC SECURITY

In addition to the unfortunate murder of the soldier Eric Enrique Estrada Lopez and electoral witness Roberto Carlos Rivas (of the Pacto Histórico campaign) murdered in San Vicente del Caguan, Caquetá and Guapi, Cauca, respectively, there was the explosion of an Improvised Explosive Device in Tibú, Norte de Santander, near the Vetas de Oriente voting station. Three soldiers were injured, and no civilians were affected.

Likewise, MOE regrets the murder of Ersaín de Jesus Ramirez Ospina, a human rights defender in the municipality of Patía El Bordo, Cauca. This person participated in the Pacto Historico campaign.

3. WEATHER EFFECTS

Of the 6 polling stations that had not been able to open in the morning, finally in all of them it was possible to start the electoral day, the last one in Santa Rosa de Tetuán, San Antonio in the department of Tolima, which managed to open at 2:30 pm.

4. ENFOQUES DIFFERENTIAL

The 39 observers of the Transgender Voters Protocol have reported the following findings throughout election day:

72% of the 332 people appointed as voting jurors in the observed tables knew the measures and actions of the Protocol, as well as 74% of the 177 National Police officers in the voting stations observed knew the measures and actions of the norm.
In the polling stations of the municipality of Malambo, Atlántico, there was no presence of authorities of the Justice Committee/Table. This also happened in the first presidential round.
At the level of observation of the implementation of the Transgender Voters Protocol abroad, observers reported that the consul of Montreal, Canada knows about the trans voting protocol, included its content in the trainings and had no incidents to report in the voting station/consulate.

After an intense campaign and abundant in attacks and recriminations between the contenders and citizens with different electoral preferences, MOE’s calls for tranquility while waiting the results of both the pre-count and the final scrutiny process.

More information

Mónica Acosta López, communications coordinator. 312 320 37 79 [email protected]

19.06.22.PressRelease1.DiaD2_.INGLES-1

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