20,000 of Colombia’s local election candidates face criminal charges

[Judi Lynn]

20,000 of Colombia’s local election candidates face criminal charges
Posted by Adriaan Alsema on Sep 28, 2015

At least 20,000 candidates in Colombia’s October 25 local elections have criminal investigations pending against them, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, reported Caracol Radio Monday.

In 2,000 cases these aspiring public officials are suspected of involvement in drug trafficking. The remaining accusations vary from failing to pay child support to the illegal carrying of firearms, according to the radio station.

In total, the 20,000 politicians reportedly face 103,000 criminal investigations.

Colombia’s authorities — both electoral and judicial — have been making some effort to curb widespread elections considered normal in local elections races in Colombia.

Last week, authorities said that as many of 2 million recently registered voter registrations could be fraudulent. Taking into account that in the last local elections 17 million Colombians turned out to vote, this means that criminal politicians sought to acquire more than 10% of the votes through identity fraud.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/20000-of-colombias-local-election-candidates-have-pending-criminal-investigations/

[Wilms]

1. That's probably more than in the US.