Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
From Venezuela with Love II: fugitive coalition politician confirms claims Colombia's 2018 election
by Adriaan Alsema February 18, 2020
A fugitive politician who is in custody in Venezuela fueled a furious debate in Colombia after claiming President Ivan Duque won the 2018 elections through fraud.
In an interview with Semana columnist Vicky Davila, former Senator-elect Aida Merlano (Conservative Party) said that controversial businessman “Julio [Gerlein] bought votes to get him elected.”
“The quota he invested in the Duque campaign was $6000 million pesos ($1.8 million),” said Merlano, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for election fraud two weeks before she escaped in October last year.
Merlano confirms fraud claims
According to Merlano, who was arrested in January, Gerlein and the powerful Char family, initially teamed up to support former Vice-President German Vargas ahead of the the first round.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/from-venezuela-with-love-ii-fugitive-politician-drops-election-fraud-bomb-on-duque/