Uribistas name candidates for Colombia´s 2014 senate race
Colombia ex-president Alvaro Uribe´s Democratic Centre (DC) movement met this week in Bogota to pick candidates for next year´s national elections.
Although a decision on the DC´s candidate to fight against President Santos´ re-election was put off, a list of possible candidates for Colombia´s senate has been leaked.
The most eye-catching names are José Obdulio Gaviria, Paloma Valencia, Alfredo Rangel, and Paola Holguín. Although not household names (with the exception of former chief of staff to Uribe, José Obdulio), all have profiles across national and local media outlets.
According to La Silla Vacia, the list is not yet complete; there are so far 11 names on the list that will now go forward for Uribe´s sign-off, but the DC hope to win up to 25 senate seats.
DC members also await a decision from the ex president himself as to whether he will run. Uribistas hope the controversial and charismatic leader will head up the senate list, and many analysts believe that he must do so for the DC to stand any hope of reaching their ambitious target for seats in the upper chamber.
Uribe himself, however, is said to be considering whether a return to front line politics is in his interest. Should he be elected to parliament he would lose the presidential impunity he currently enjoys, opening the way for his time in congress to be bogged down by possible legal cases into his time in the Casa de Nariño presidential palace.
We suspect Uribe will hold his cards to his chest for as long as possible. An announcement that he were not to run would effectively kill dead the chances of many of those battling for votes, taking the steam out of the DC´s campaign before it has properly begun.
Meanwhile, the four candidates battling it out to become the official presidential rider will not find out the detail of their selection process until the end of the month. Pacho Santos, cousin of President Santos, currently leads the way in a field with low levels of public recognition.
Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Oscar Ivan Zuluaga and Juan Carlos Velez all hope to beat Pacho Santos, but none has so far caught the public´s eye.
Uribism´s difficulty is precisely this; a lack of profile for its candidates, both for the presidency and for the senate – a problem it must overcome in the coming months if it is to develop into a meaningful political force.
Additional information
The DC, set up those loyal to Alvaro Uribe to oppose the politics of current President Santos, held its first national gathering Tuesday Wednesday, bringing together the movement´s regional bigwigs, candidates and its spiritual leader himself, Alvaro Uribe.
The other names on the senate list are rumoured to be – Everth Bustamente, Andres Julian Rendon, Albeiro Franco, Erika Salamanca, Mario Palaez Soto, Honoro Enriquez Pineado, and Mayor General Carlos Lemus Pedraza.
Picture, El Pilón
