Candidate killings rise ahead of Colombia vote: report
BOGOTA: At least 14 candidates for Colombia's local elections in October have been killed since the start of the year, apparently by guerrilla and ex-paramilitary groups, a watchdog organization said Thursday.
The Election Monitoring Mission (MOE) said in a new report that 14 candidates have been killed, another six attacked and 19 threatened.
"Five months before the elections, this number of cases does not constitute an ideal democratic scenario," MOE director Alejandra Barrios told AFP.
Although the final selection of candidates has not yet been completed, hundreds have already taken to the campaign trail in cities and departments across the country.
On Monday two rightwing candidates were killed in the northwestern Antioquia province, which has been the most afflicted by the violence.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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