New Colombian party linked to right-wing gangs

[Judi Lynn]

Mar 16, 2:49 AM EDT
New Colombian party linked to right-wing gangs
By FRANK BAJAK
Associated Press Writer

BOGOTA (AP) -- A new party accused of ties to far-right criminal bands has emerged as a surprising force in Colombian politics, adding to worries that President Alvaro Uribe has failed to weaken drug-funded paramilitaries in the provinces.

Voters made the Party of National Integration, or PIN, Colombia's fourth-strongest party in Sunday's election to replace a Congress already badly tarnished by lawmaker links to far-right militias.

The party, comprised in a large part by relatives and friends of lawmakers jailed or under investigation for alleged paramilitary links, won nearly a million votes in elections dominated by Uribe allies.

"It is no secret that drug mafias and some remnants of paramilitary groups have penetrated Colombia's political system," said Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington. "But their capacity to organize politically in the current context is notable, and deeply troubling."

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_COLOMBIA_ELECTIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-03-16-02-49-45

[rabs]

1. Big, big mess in Colombia

(Related to your post)

El Tiempo is reporting that the Interior Ministry is ordering the Justice Department to look into the election regarding the Conservative Party's choice for presidential candidate (Noemi Sanin and Andrés Felipe Arias who are only separated by about 400 votes with the counting stalled.)

The allegations of fraud and slowness in the count are so serious that they cannot be swept under the rug this time by the uribistas. An OAS mission is also looking into the allegations.

The company that got the multi-million dollar contract to do the tabulation is a telecommunitions conglomorate called UNE, based in Medellin, the hometown of Alvaro Uribe and of Andrés Felipe Arias, the favorite of the uribistas to take the place of Alvaro Uribe.

The Interior Minister tonight said there was no guarantee that the same "mistakes" could be avoided for the May 30 presidential election.

----------------

Blurb in English that I found


Page One Daily News
COLOMBIA - Uncertainty Continues

* COLOMBIA

Uncertainty Continues
The National Electoral Council promised Noemi Sanin and Andres Felipe Arias that they would turnover the definitive election results of the Conservative consultation on Wed.

After concerns from Noemi Sanin and Andres Felipe Arias about delays in the consolidation of results which would determine the Conservative Party's candidate for the presidency, the National Electoral Council agreed today to review the entire consultation without taking into account the partial results issued by the National Registrar. Representatives of the electoral entity said that they would give priority to counting the consultation's votes. The physical review will begin tomorrow, which suggests that by Wed. the name of the Conservative Party presidential candidate for the May elections will be known. According to the last bulletin last night, the former minister, Andres Felipe Arias, was leading, but this morning, in a new report by the Registrar, the ambassador, Noemi Sanin, took the lead.
15-Mar-2010 06:03pm

Read more: http://www.poder360.com/dailynews_detail.php?blurbid=6200#ixzz0iK5Itdb5

[protocol rv]

2. Susprising how left wing parties did so poorly, don't you think?

I suspect the Colombians are terrified a government allied with Chavez would come to power, so they're tarring all leftists with the same brush. That's really sad.