Colombian election result leaves Uribe party on the sidelines

Colombian election result leaves Uribe party on the sidelines

Seven million votes endorse Zuluaga as the main opposition leader

El uribismo pierde, pero será el gran opositor del presidente
Elizabeth Reyes L. Bogotá 16 JUN 2014 - 17:30 CET



It only took an hour for the smile that had been plastered over Óscar Iván Zuluaga’s face to disappear. He had been smiling since he won the first round of Colombia’s presidential elections in late May. On Sunday, his followers – gathered at a hotel in downtown Bogota – tried to raise morale by waving their shirts in the air to cover up the unexpected defeat. Zuluaga addressed the crowd as his wife Marta Ligia and his children stood by him. He said he was grateful and spoke “without any hatred or resentment,” after congratulating President Juan Manuel Santos on his victory. “This is what democracy is about,” he added.

Zuluaga gave a short speech during which he only raised his voice to say that he was proud of having been the candidate for the Democratic Center Party. He expressed his immense gratitude to his mentor, former President Álvaro Uribe (2002-10). “He and his family made every physical effort to join me in this fight,” he said while his followers screamed “Zuluaga! Zuluaga!”

The former presidential candidate said his seven million votes have made his party a viable political alternative for Colombia after it faced down the entire “state machinery.” The now opposition leader said the fight would continue and that these votes would allow the party to carry “the opinion of the people who want peace negotiations based on certain conditions, the demands of rural workers, and of every region in Colombia, a voice that the government will listen to.”

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Despite the defeat, Zuluaga has gained the political capital to set himself up as the main opposition leader for the next four years of the Santos administration. It also puts him first in line for the 2018 elections. With 20 seats in the Senate and 16 in the House of Representatives, Zuluaga stands as the most important voice in the opposition.

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http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/16/inenglish/1402932604_024861.html