National Electoral Council asks mayors to report presidential propaganda in public space

This Saturday, April 23, the National Electoral Council (CNE) urged all mayors of the country to regulate and send to the electoral authority administrative acts that regulate political propaganda in the Colombian public space ahead of the first presidential round.

Through external circular 002, the CNE argued that according to article 29 of Law 130 of 1994: “... It is up to mayors and municipal registrars to regulate the form, characteristics, places and conditions for the posting of posters, parades, posters and billboards intended to disseminate electoral propaganda, in order to ensure equitable access to the use of these means by parties and movements, groups and candidates”.

Local leaders of the national territory will have to document within three (3) working days of the decree issued and, weekly, send the detailed report of the billboards, posters, parades and posters, which have been posted in their municipalities for each of the eight presidential campaigns.

The report must include the addresses and photographs of such propaganda, as well as the one that does not comply with the sites provided for it. Local authorities will have to take the necessary measures to enforce compliance with the obligations set out in administrative acts governing propaganda.

Failure to comply with this circular will result in sanctions by the CNE, and will be sent to the Office of the Attorney General for the respective disciplinary investigations.

Last Wednesday, April 20, the Mayor of Cali reported that the campaign of the former mayor of Medellín and presidential candidate for the Team for Colombia, Federico Gutiérrez, would be in breach of regulatory requirements, which specify the installation of only eight billboards in the city, however, authorities reportedly counted 26 hurdles in the capital of Valle del Cauca.

This was confirmed by the Undersecretary of Inspection, Surveillance and Control (IVC), Jimmy Dranguet, who considered it essential that advertising activities be carried out on an equal footing for the elections on May 29, which is why the local administration sent a letter to the candidate's presidential campaign of the right-wing alliance to dismantle the 18 billboards that would be in breach of the rules on foreign political advertising.

On the other hand, the official stressed that the reviews that have been carried out by the authorities since the beginning of the month, through which it has been verified that the political campaigns of the presidential candidates comply with established standards, “are objective” and allowed to establish that Federico Gutiérrez's campaign is the only one which would be in breach of the number of fences displayed.

According to the undersecretary, the campaign of opposition leader and candidate of the Historical Pact, Gustavo Petro, would have five hurdles installed; the same number as Christian candidate John Milton Rodriguez; followed by former governor of Antioquia and presidential candidate for the Centro Esperanza Coalition, Sergio Fajardo , who would have two and finally the engineer and independent candidate, Rodolfo Hernández, with a fence in the capital of Valle del Cauca.

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