Racial exclusion, little faith in institutions and pressure from armed groups on vulnerable populations are three of the main reasons for the high rate of electoral abstention in Colombia, a situation that was reflected in the first round of the presidential elections on May 29.
This was stated by a group of lawyers for the Defense of Free Elections in the Pacific in their report “The Vote is Peaceful or It Will Not Be”, where they denounce that there are irregularities in the voting environment that influence the low participation in the exercise of voting.
In this regard, they stressed that these irregularities focused on: the placement of voting booths, damage caused by rain, lack of accreditation by electoral witnesses, as well as fear of the presence of armed groups.
Although the first round of elections in Colombia was held peacefully, with no acts of violence by armed groups, there were disturbances in public order in regions such as Caquetá, Atlántico, Quindío, Guaviare and Arauca, they said.
The document also states that there were complaints that were made known to the national and international community and that the committee recorded, such as: delays in the installation of some polling stations and juries due to rain, problems in the accreditation of some electoral witnesses and the arrest of three people linked to electoral irregularities.
The group explained that, due to the complaints made in the legislative elections of March 13, which showed fraud by the National Registry, distrust has become more relevant among citizens.
Thus, the regions where the highest abstention rate was recorded were Bagadó and Chocó with 71 percent; in Buenaventura in Valle it reached 60 percent; in López de Micay in Cauca it was 66.57 percent; and in Santa Bárbara de Iscuandé in Nariño it was 72.08 percent; while in the entire Pacific Coast, abstention rate reached 55.65 percent.
With an approximate population of 1.6 million people and an electoral potential of 1.229 million 280 voters, the Pacific Coast region did not have the expected response at the polling stations due to the high rate of abstentionism which, although it had the lowest level in the last 20 years, was only reduced by one percent compared to the 2018 elections.
The text stated that the Pacific region and a large part of the so-called "periphery" voted mostly for the candidate Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez, obtaining more than 1,962,391 votes in the four departments.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire by illegal armed groups such as the ELN allowed for an election day without disruptions to public order; however, many Pacific communities reported that the groups were present in the territories.
It should be noted that the group points out that in the departments of the Pacific region such as Chocó or Cauca, rates of monetary impoverishment of their population exceeding 50 percent are recorded; while departments such as Antioquia or Bogotá recorded figures of 29.30 and 35.80 percent, respectively, in 2021.
This, they stressed, shows that approximately half of the population of Chocó and Cauca, that is, more than 900 thousand citizens live on less than five thousand pesos a day (1 dollar and 42 cents).
It is important to note that in the first four months of this year, they stressed, more than 78,900 people were victims of mass displacement and confinement nationwide, which shows that impoverishment has also influenced abstentionism in the area.
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