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2007 Assessment

Colombia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Colombia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Voting & Citizen Participation
Indicators		Score
14	Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?	100
15	Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?	67
16	Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?	75

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?

14a: In law, universal and equal adult suffrage is guaranteed to all citizens.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Constitution (art. 40, 258), voting is a right and a responsibility, and all citizens (after 18 years old) can vote secretly for all public possitions (president, mayors, governors, congress, municipal councils, departmental assemblies and local juntas).

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991. art. 40 and 258.

14b: In law, there is a legal framework requiring that elections be held at regular intervals.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Constitution, presidential elections are held every four years (art. 190), and a Constitutional reform in 2005 allowed re-election. Congressional elections are held every four years both for the senate and lower house and should not concur with presidential elections (art. 262). Local elections are held every four years after an electoral reform issued in 2002.

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991, art. 190 and 262.

ACTO LEGISLATIVO 02 DE 2002, Diario Oficial No. 44.893, de 7 de agosto de 20 "Por el cual se modifica el período de los gobernadores, diputados, alcaldes, concejales y ediles."

ACTO LEGISLATIVO 02 DE 2004, por el cual se reforman algunos artículos de la Constitución Política de Colombia y se dictan otras disposiciones.

Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?

15a: In practice, all adult citizens can vote.

Score:

100

Comments: According to law, voting is a fundamental right open to all citizens 18 years or older (art. 40 Constitution). However, in practice, given public security restrictions, not all citizens are able to vote, and there important restrictions to vote especially in rural areas. One of the main manifestations of the lack of liberty to vote are the extremely high abstention rates. Abstention is also a reflection of the lack of interest or credibility in the electoral process, the political class and of the fact voting is not mandatory. However, it is clear that in many municipalities, voting is not totally free.

The main restriction to free voting is the insecurity derived from the armed conflict even though, according to the Foundation Security and Democracy, the 2005-2006 electoral debate was the least affected by violence in Colombian history. There has been an improvement in terms of security for elections, but many citizens are still unable to vote because there are threats from armed groups. Guerrillas usually threat citizens in order to impede voting, using death threats before elections or terrorist attacks, burning electoral material on election day or attacking voting sites. Meanwhile, paramilitaries threaten citizens to compel them to vote for their preferred candidate or impose sole candidates to run for office in their areas of influence.

Besides the threats from armed groups, other restrictions to free voting reported by different missions of electoral observation in March 2006 include: the presence of non-identified armed actors in Bogota and Barrancabermeja, some vote buying with cash in Cali and Bucaramanga, the suggestion by electoral judges to vote for certain candidates, and the manipulation of ballots.

Another restriction of the right to vote comes from lack of proper understanding of the electoral system. For the congressional elections held in March 2006, there was a new electoral system in place and citizens, as well as electoral judges, did not properly understand the new system (proportional representation with open list). This problem was translated in difficulties voting and of counting the votes.

The Mission of Electoral Observation of the OAS reported an improvement in the general security conditions for the elections held in March and May 2006, but it was still acknowledged that in some municipalities there were threats from armed groups to impede citizens to vote freely.

For example, for the 2006 presidential elections in Buenaventura, one of the most war-torn municipalities in Colombia, there were 23 terrorist attacks in 15 days (10 of them deactivated by the police) and a threat of electoral fraud, but the voting day was calmer than years ago. However, abstention still reached 66 percent. News reports claimed an increased turnout in municipalities controlled by the FARC (the biggest guerrilla group in the country) in the 2006 congressional elections, showing the improvement in security conditions.

Despite improvements in security, there are still many restrictions on free vote. The Mission of Electoral Observation has established a risk map for the 2007 local elections, and has established that there are risks of fraud or irregular voting processes in at least 328 municipalities, from a universe of about 1,090 municipalities.

References: Misión de Observación Electoral. ELECCIONES LEGISLATIVAS, 12 DE MARZO 2006 INFORME PRELIMINAR. www.vivalaciudadania.org

Informe preliminar de la Misión de Observación Electoral de la OEA sobre las elecciones generales realizadas en Colombia el 28 de mayo de 2006. Palabras de Santiago Murray, Jefe de la Misión de Observación Electoral. [ LINK ].

Revista Semana. Perdieron las FARC. Marzo 17,2006. [ LINK ]

Misión de Observación Electoral. 2007. Elecciones en riesgo. [ LINK ]

Fundación Seguridad y Democracia. 2006. I. INFORME ESPECIAL SOBRE VIOLENCIA POLÍTICA EN LOS PROCESOS ELECTORALES DE 1997, 1998, 2002 Y 2006. [ LINK ]

Romero, Marco Alberto. 2003. Elecciones, reforma política y garantías electorales. Actualidad Colombia, Informes Especiales CINEP. www.cinep.org.co/pdf/ac/Eleccionesreformapoliticaygarantiaselectorales.pdf -

Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris. 2007. Los Caminos de la alianza entre los paramilitares y los políticos.

15b: In practice, ballots are secret or equivalently protected.

Score:

100

Comments: Ballots are secret. However, in practice, sometimes voting is not totally secret, as the voting cubicles are too open and too close one to another (Corporacion Mision Observacion electoral) and are too close to the tables where the judges are. This situation enables candidates or armed groups interested in affecting the electoral process to control individual preferences.

References: Misión de Observación Electoral. Elecciones Legislativas, 12 de Marzo 2006 Informe Preliminar. www.vivalaciudadania.org

15c: In practice, elections are held according to a regular schedule.

Score:

100

Comments: Elections are always held according to a regular schedule, every four years for congress and presidents, and after electoral reform in 2003, every four years for mayors, governors, local councilors, governmental deputies, and other local authorities. In 2006 there were 28 atypical elections (out of regular schedule), for two mayors and four governors, but those were scheduled because of extraordinary circumstances such as death or destitution of the dignitary or nullity of the election.

In fact, Colombia is recognized as having the longest tradition of regular and free elections in Latin America, a characteristic that contrasts with the existence of the longest armed conflict in the continent.

References: Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil. www.registraduria.gov.co

Duque Daza, Javier. 2006. Presidential Candidates and the Colombian Conflict. InfoCIP Newsletter #13 (Presidential Elections in Colombia), CIP-FUHEM, May 20, 2006. [ LINK ]

PNUD. 2004. La democracia en América Latina: Hacia una democracia de ciudadanas y ciudadanos.

Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?

16a: In law, all citizens have a right to form political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Constitution (art. 40), all citizens can constitute and belong to political parties and political groupings without any restriction in order to exercise their right to control, practice, and form political power.

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991, art. 40.

16b: In law, all citizens have a right to run for political office.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the Constitution (art. 40), all citizens can vote and run for political office, and it is a fundamental right. There are no restrictions to be a candidate except those that refer to age restrictions, previous penal sentences or the inabilities and incompatibilities regime that prevents conflicts or interest.

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991, art. 40.

16c: In practice, all citizens are able to form political parties.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: While there is no guarantee of electoral success, political parties can form freely without opposition. <p>50 Score Criteria: Some barriers to formation are present, such as burdensome registration requirements that may not be fairly applied. Some parties\' political viewpoints may draw pressure from the government, such as surveillance or intimidation. Some political parties or organizations may have extra barriers to getting on a ballot. <p>0 Score Criteria: Some political parties are effectively barred from forming through some manner of official or unofficial pressure. This may include threats, arrest, or violence from competing parties or other groups.$

Comments: Political parties can form freely, however in 2003 there was an electoral reform aimed at reducing the fragmentation and lack of organization that characterized political parties in Colombia. In order to do so, the law imposed requirements that may limit the ability of minor parties to remain in the electoral competition. For example, public funds for campaigns are only given to political parties and not to candidates, and to get the legal status, parties are required to have at least 2 percent of valid votes in congressional elections.

Although in general there was a consensus within the opinion about the necessity to organize political parties and not encourage fragmentation, there is a perception that the electoral reform did not provide significant guarantees for minority parties.

References: Cárdenas, Mauricio, Junguito, Roberto, Pachón, Mónica. 2006. Political Institutions, and Policy Outcomes in Colombia: The Effects of the 1991 Constitution Research Network Working Paper #R-508. Inter-American Development Bank.

16d: In practice, all citizens can run for political office.

Score:

100

Comments: The legal liberty to run for office is severely limited in Colombia by the armed conflict that imposes security constraints on candidates by high campaign costs and by the influence of illegal actors in the electoral processes. The direct and indirect political participation of paramilitary groups and the armed pressures of guerrillas (especially the FARC, the biggest guerrilla group) on candidates, reduced the transparency of elections and the liberty of candidates to run for office in the 2006 congressional elections. The extremely high costs of running a campaign and the difficult security conditions prevent many candidates from running for office and constitute an incentive for many politicians to ally with armed actors. Especially for local elections, many candidates are prevented from running as they receive threats from armed groups.

Overall, levels of political violence during election times, as expressed by kidnappings and murders, have diminished. But at the same time, the political influence of paramilitaries on elections has increased and has become evident, as testified by the recent scandal known as the parapolítica, which refers to the links between politicians and paramilitaries. Such scandal started in October 2006, when information found on the computer of a paramilitary leader started to reveal the links that congressmen, mayors, local councilors and governors had established with paramilitaries to secure their election through money and armed pressure in the 2002 and 2006 electoral debates. Among the many irregular and illegal mechanisms used by paramilitaries and politicians to win, one can include electoral fraud, manipulation of electoral districts and distribution of voters, and kidnappings, threats and murders on contending candidates.

In October 2007, there will be local elections for mayors, governors, local councils and departmental assemblies. By July 2, 2007, the electoral body reported that 1,500 candidates had retired their candidacies, many of them owed to the impossibility of covering high campaign costs and/or because candidates financed by paramilitaries have a clear advantage (El Tiempo, Julio 4 de 2007).

On June 23, 2007, a local observatory for elections in the Valle de Aburra alerted about the murder of two people and the threats to seven people that belonged to the party PDA in the municipality of Bello. There are also reports of candidates for mayors and local councilors murdered in the Departments of Meta and Caquetá (east).

On July 27, 2007, the Minister of Defense admitted that there are vulnerabilities in at least 25 percent of municipalities, derived from the armed conflict. He also gave information on a plan from the FARC (the biggest guerrilla group) to sabotage the upcoming local electoral process.

References: Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris. 2007. Los caminos de la alianza entre paramilitares y políticos El Tiempo. Julio 4 de 2007. "Más de 1.550 candidatos a las consultas del próximo domingo se retiraron."

Revista Semana. "No dejaré que empañen mi campaña: Uribe." May 10, 2006.

Revista Semana. "Congresistas suscriptores del acuerdo de Ralito fueron llamados a indagatoria por concierto para delinquir agravado." March 21, 2007.

Misión de Observación Electoral. ELECCIONES LEGISLATIVAS, 12 DE MARZO 2006 INFORME PRELIMINAR. www.vivalaciudadania.org

El Tiempo. Agentes del CTI seguían desde el martes a 19 políticos capturados ayer por firmar el Pacto de Ralito. Mayo 15 de 2007 .

Votebien.com Elecciones 2007. Observatorio Electoral del Valle de Aburrá lanza primeras alertas. [ LINK ]

El Tiempo. Julio 31 de 2007. Ministerio de Defensa admite que 25% de los municipios tiene riesgo para elecciones.

16e: In practice, an opposition party is represented in the legislature.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The opposition party always has some influence on the proceedings of the legislature. The opposition party can introduce legislation or bring pending matters to a vote without the consent of the ruling party. <p>50 Score Criteria: The opposition party has influence on the proceeding of the legislature, but it is limited in scope. The opposition\'s ability to force votes or publicly debate certain topics may be limited. <p>0 Score Criteria: The opposition party has only token participation in the legislature\'s proceedings and cannot advance legislation or force a debate.$

Comments: In the congressional elections of 2006, the government's coalition obtained 61 seats in the senate while the opposition, represented by the Liberal Party and the Democratic Independent Party, obtained 29 seats. Thus, the opposition does have representation, and its is very active, but it is limited in scope in terms of passing legislation.

The opposition has led important debates to oppose legislative proposals of the government, such as the reform to the "Transfers Law" (the law that regulates the distribution of rents to decentralized entities) or the Free Trade Agreement initiative. In both cases, the opposition rejected the initiatives, but despite this rejection and popular discontent, the initiatives were issued.

The opposition has also been very active in political control, while calling government functionaries and ministers to debate very difficult issues, such as the links between politicians and paramilitaries. The most recent initiative of the opposition was a debate to apply the "mocion de censura" (the mechanism of political control over ministers) to the Minister of Defense. The debate was called mainly because in May 2007, the minister had to acknowledge publicly, after a report published by the weekly magazine Semana, that for two years the police had been intercepting phone calls of high levels politicians, journalists, and members of the opposition.

Opposition in Colombia is stipulated as a right of political parties and political movements (Law 130 of 1994 and art.112 of the Constitution) and as such it is stipulated that the opposition have access to information, to state media according to their representation, and have a right to reply when there are public attacks on them from state authorities.

References: Higuita, Oto. 2007. Colombia: Polo Democrático Alternativo, cómo nos fue en el 2006. [ LINK ]

Arciniegas, Elizabeth Arciniegas and Hernández, Andres. 2006. La nueva configuración partidista en Colombia. El sistema de partidos está en una etapa de transición y de reacomodamiento difícil de predecir. [ LINK ]