COLOMBIA: Security is tight and election staff wait to enter voting centres as Election Day dawns

Record ID: 1530021

  • Title: COLOMBIA: Security is tight and election staff wait to enter voting centres as Election Day dawns
  • Date: 21st May 2010
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF MAN READING PAPER WITH ARTICLES ABOUT ELECTION
  • Embargoed: 6th July 2010 14:43
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Colombia
  • Country: Colombia
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3X0U1P0ITQXKO05UETLCMU319
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Election Day dawned cool and cloudy in Bogota on Sunday (June 20) as voters prepared to go to the polls to choose their next president.
    Colombians will choose between former Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos and Green Party candidate Antanas Mockus. The latest polls have Santos ahead by 40 points and many consider his victory a forgone conclusion. However, pollsters had Santos and Mockus in a dead even tie in the first round on May 30, but Santos pulled out a surprising 25 point victory. Still, he lacked the more than 50 percent required for an outright win.
    The first round went smoothly by most accounts, but security remained tight on Sunday morning. Police reviewed Colombians entering the capital and the main square Plaza Bolivar. A heavy security presence was on the streets and guarding voting centres throughout the city.
    News of the runoff dominated the headlines as election workers waited to enter the voting centres and begin the process of identifying voters and shuttling them through the voting stations.
    Polls are scheduled to open at 0800 local (1300gmt).
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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