Hope and uncertainty after Colombian election
Luke Randall
Christians remain hopeful but uncertain that the new Colombian administration will restore protections for religious leaders following the recent national election which allegedly featured coercion by armed groups.
Abelardo de la Espriella narrowly defeated leftist Iván Cepeda in the second round of a close presidential ballot in an election which appears to have been marred by allegations of coercion by armed groups.
Colombia: What happens after election?
Luke Randall
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is “hopeful” that a new Colombian government will restore protections for religious leaders and work to improve the nation’s increasingly precarious humanitarian predicament following the upcoming presidential election.
The organisation has called upon the government to restore previously held protections to religious leaders due to their increased susceptibility to attack by armed insurgents, which featured their inclusion on a list of vulnerable populations, enabling them to access means of official security, such as protection programmes. The armed insurgency in Colombia is a complex, low-intensity conflict driven by splinter groups, drug trafficking, and territorial control by three groups including two guerrilla organisations and a narcotics cartel.