HomeNewsBriefCampaign Group Warns of Dangers for Colombia Elections
BRIEF

Campaign Group Warns of Dangers for Colombia Elections

COLOMBIA / 26 JUL 2011 BY JEN SOKATCH EN

International Crisis Group has warned that illegal armed groups in Colombia will try to expand their power in upcoming local government elections, and released a list of recommendations for bodies involved in the elections.

The campaign group warned that the high number of murders of candidates in the run-up to the October 2011 local elections is a sign that the "decade-old trend of decreasing electoral violence could be reversed."

International Crisis Group (ICG) called on political parties to rigorously screen candidates and discard any with suspected links to illegal groups, such as the paramilitaries. It said that both parties and candidates should public their records of campaign donations.

Among the recommendations ICG made to the government were to release funds so that a planned biometric voter identification system can be used in the upcoming elections.

The report highlights the difference in approach between guerrilla groups, which tend to sabotage elections, and paramilitary groups, which focus on infiltrating government to gain access to resources.

See the entire list of recommendations here.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Tags

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 25 JUL 2022

The Urabeños, and some smaller Colombian gangs, have sent a letter to president-elect Gustavo Petro to seek peace.

BRAZIL / 28 DEC 2021

There was record destruction of the Amazon in 2020, as the rainforest lost an area around the size of Belize,…

BOLIVIA / 23 SEP 2022

As world leaders met for the United Nations General Assembly, Latin American presidents expressed various concerns about organized crime.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…