COLOMBIA:
Uribe Only Outdone by Abstention
Analysis by Constanza Vieira

BOGOTÁ,  (IPS) - The polarisation of Colombian society did not curb the decline in voter turnout, as Colombians basically faced the choice of voting for right-wing President Álvaro Uribe and his strong-arm tactics in the armed conflict, or the leftist Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA), which is set to become the second-strongest political force, having shoved aside the Liberal Party.

Uribe captured an even larger share - 62 percent - of the vote on Sunday than the polls had projected, while Senator Carlos Gaviria, a former Constitutional Court magistrate, won 22 percent representing the PDA - nearly four times the votes garnered by the left in 2002. The Liberal Party's Horacio Serpa, meanwhile, was the big loser, taking just over 12 percent.

The large margins weakened the arguments of those who warned against massive fraud.

The results showed that 7.3 million voters support Uribe and his controversial "democratic security" policy, and that 4.2 million are against him (including the small numbers of voters who cast ballots for other candidates).

The common denominator among those opposed to the president is their rejection of the power of the extreme-right paramilitaries who support Uribe, many of whose leaders are druglords.

But 14.6 million voters either did not come out for the elections or cast blank ballots. Indeed, the abstention rate grew from 48.4 percent in 2002 to 54.9 percent on Sunday.

Critics thus say that Uribe, whose second four-year term begins Aug. 7, will govern with the support of just 27.5 percent of the country's voters.

The social democratic Liberal Party fielded a weak candidate, Serpa, who had been named ambassador to the Organisation of American States (OAS) in Washington by Uribe. He also served as interior minister under former president Ernesto Samper (1994-1998), whose administration was beset by a scandal over campaign financing from the drug trade.

The paramilitaries, whose central mission is to attack what is considered to be the social base of the leftwing guerrillas, have been partially disarmed as part of controversial negotiations with the Uribe administration.

Self-described heirs to the demobilised paramilitary militias sent out e-mail threats prior to the elections to human rights organisations, trade unions, academics and others who have spoken out against paramilitary violence that targets civilians. The groups also made their presence felt through intimidation in small towns and in slum neighbourhoods in medium and large cities.

"The reelection of Álvaro Uribe should not be used to legitimate government policies that are enemies to human rights," said a statement received by IPS Monday from Christiane Schwarz, with Kolko, a German group that works on behalf of human rights in Colombia. "During the election campaign, President Uribe continued to malign human rights groups."

"That is why we are very concerned about human rights in Colombia," added Schwarz.

The European Union (EU) has increasingly provided support for the paramilitary demobilisation. Adrianus Koetsenruijter, the head of the European Commission delegation to Colombia and Ecuador, said last week that "There is nothing that can be observed in the attitude of the authorities that could threaten or fail to protect human rights defenders."

Uribe's "democratic security" policy, which has been heavily criticised by human rights groups, has shown progress and setbacks in the last four years.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights presents annual recommendations to the Colombian government, which criticise the government while acknowledging certain steps forward.

While the number of murders has declined, direct participation by government agents in attacks, such as extrajudicial executions, is on the rise, as is forced displacement, reported Kolko.

During the campaign, Uribe repeatedly stated that the country would have to choose between "democratic security" or allowing "disguised communism" to return "the fatherland to the FARC," the main leftist rebel group, which has been in arms since 1964.

Among Uribe's opponents there is disagreement over whether to continue the policy of all-out war against the FARC.

But the 2.6 million votes garnered by the left were a clear expression of support for a negotiated solution to the four-decade armed conflict by voters who largely believe the continued existence of armed leftist insurgent groups makes any sense.

Uribe's reelection is a political defeat for the FARC, whose leadership repeatedly stated in communiqués that Uribe would not win a second term.

The president, a wealthy landowner, won the 2002 elections promising an all-out offensive against the guerrillas, and pledging to bring a badly weakened FARC to the negotiating table within two years. His government has received heavy U.S. military aid and financing in its counterinsurgency efforts.

Nevertheless, the FARC remains strong, controlling large swaths of rural territory.

Uribe's followers argue that he needs "more time."

In his four years in office, the president has taken no steps towards negotiating a humanitarian swap of imprisoned guerrillas for hostages held by the FARC - who include former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt (one of Uribe's most outspoken critics), other politicians and police officers.

While Uribe's supporters celebrated in the Tequendama hotel in Bogota, just 100 metres away the leftist PDA proclaimed itself "the leading opposition force," after winning the largest number of votes in the history of the Colombian left.

Gaviria said "we do not feel defeated," and called on the PDA - which emerged in December 2005 as an alliance between the Independent Democratic Pole and the Democratic Alternative - to remain an opposition force, and not to accept important diplomatic or public posts.

He also urged it not to allow itself to be divided, in order to aim for a victory in the 2010 presidential elections.