Newspaper claims 'dark interests' behind Cali election scandal .

[Judi Lynn]

Newspaper claims 'dark interests' behind Cali election scandal
Tuesday, 23 August 2011 15:36
James Bargent

According to an investigation by newspaper El Tiempo, “dark interests of local politicians who want to seize power in the city” could be behind the recent scandals that forced two candidates to withdraw from the Cali mayor’s race.

On Monday, President Juan Manuel Santos announced that both Rodrigo Guerrero and Susana Correra, whose electoral petitions were found to have thousands of fraudulent signatures, told him they had been asked for bribes to resolve their issues with the Electoral Registry.

Santos said Guerrero was asked for more than $100,000 to “solve his problem with the Registry about the signatures” and days later he was asked for the same amount to “win the election.”

El Tiempo claims Guerrero directly blamed the director of the Electoral Registry, Hollman Ibañez, who signed the document removing him from the ballot. According to newspaper, Ibañez is close friends with the Cali government secretary, Eliana Salamanca, who is the protégé of ex-senator Juan Carlos Martinez – who was convicted on "parapolitics" charges.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/18510-newspaper-claims-dark-interests-behind-cali-election-scandal.html