Hours earlier, in an interview with a local media outlet, Gustavo Petro invited former candidate Sergio Farjado to join for the second round and thus prevent Iván Duque from taking the reins of the nation, as it would be the end of the alternative forces.
Through a letter published on the Twitter network, the Executive Committee of the Polo Democrático Alternativo indicated that with 21 votes in favor and seven against, the parliamentary majority decided.
Declaration approved by the National Executive Committee of the Polo Democrático on the 2nd round of the election for the Presidency pic.twitter.com/X913U1neF8
– Jorge Enrique Robledo (@JERobledo) May 31, 2018
In addition, he recalled that a minority part of the party opted for the blank vote, including Senator Jorge Enrique Robledo, who accompanied Farjado during the first round.
The president of the party, Álvaro Argote Muñoz, indicated that now they should focus on going after the votes in order to give victory to Petro.
The Polo Democrático considers that the vote obtained by the Farjado candidate added to the votes for Petro “represent the majority expression of the citizenry to defeat the corrupt and clientelistic machinery of the establishment and achieve a democratic government.”
For Polo, Duque’s candidacy represents the continuity of the country’s political, economic and social crisis, as well as an attack on peace.