TeleSUR correspondent, Hernan Tobar, brings us the details from the insecurity of upcoming Colombian national elections, as it’s vote count will be handled by a private company previously accused of irregularities. teleSUR
00:00And for the upcoming Colombian national elections, the vote count will be handled by a private company previously accused of irregularities.
00:08The announcement has triggered warnings from the government and several political figures.
00:13Our correspondent, Hernán Tobar, has more.
00:17The president expressed his concern after learning that the private company Thomas Greig & Sons won the bid for the logistics and data management for the development of the upcoming elections.
00:30There is a history of irregularities in the management of elections in Colombia.
00:37That is why it is worrying about transparency as President Petro has said.
00:40Remember that in 2018 there were thousands of complaints about possible manipulations and irregularities in the electoral records that some categorized as a possible fraud against President Petro in his presidential aspiration in 2018, but also in 2022, they disappeared more than 800,000 votes to the historical pact in his list to the Senate, which would sacrifice several seats.
00:59So he is right.
01:07From the electoral monitoring organizations, not only are the consequences generated by the monopoly of this company evident, but they also warn of the clear political interests behind it for the next elections in 2026.
01:18The big problem is that a private company in whose board of directors have been members of the traditional parties like Andres Pastrana,
01:30Like Noemi Sanin of the Conservative Party or the former president Juan Manuel Santos, all figures of the traditional parties are in the board of directors of this company, is the one that controls the logistics and the technology of the electoral process.
01:46Besides, it has all the data of the 52 million colombians because it manages the printing of the passports in such a way that this is a problem of national sovereignty. It is a problem of electoral transparency.
02:01Some political sectors denounce the strange way in which, for more than three decades, Thomas Gregg has become an unbeatable player in the public procurement sector.
02:17We need a transparent electoral process, and for it to be transparent, we need it not to continue to be in the hands of a private company.
02:29We say that these are tailor-made bids because they are tailored to the needs of these companies, so that in the end, those who apply will have to resign because in the end, the only ones who can fulfill the conditions are those who have been doing it for 30 years.
02:46The only ones who can fulfill the conditions are those who have been doing it for 30 years.
02:51The president also warned that the company Thomas Gregg concentrates the data of Colombian liabilities.
02:59And above all the electoral data for some analysts, this company has been maintained thanks to its multiple alliances with the traditional groups of political power that today maintain it with state contracts despite the multiple accusations against its owners.
