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Colombian left withdraws constituent assembly push, pressured by elections
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Colombian left withdraws constituent assembly push, pressured by elections

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • Colombia's left-wing coalition has abandoned its push for a constituent assembly, prioritizing presidential election alliances instead.
  • The decision comes after President Gustavo Petro's call to gather signatures for the assembly, intended to enact social reforms stalled in Congress.
  • The opposition had expressed concerns that the assembly could be a ploy for Petro to seek re-election, while the presidential candidate Iván Cepeda supported the initiative under certain conditions.

Colombia's left-wing coalition has decided to halt efforts to convene a National Constituent Assembly, shifting focus to building alliances for the upcoming presidential election's second round. The Committee for the Promotion of the National Constituent Assembly announced it would withdraw the project and support the formation of a "Great National Agreement" for presidential candidate Iván Cepeda.

We have decided to stop the signature collection process and withdraw the project to convene a National Constituent Assembly.

— The Committee for the Promotion of the National Constituent AssemblyStatement announcing the withdrawal of the constituent assembly project.

This move represents a setback for an initiative championed by President Gustavo Petro, who had urged the formation of committees nationwide to collect signatures for a constituent assembly. Petro stated the assembly's goal was to incorporate social reforms in areas like health, pensions, and education into the constitution, citing legislative gridlock as the reason for the push. He acknowledged that the country's current political division makes convening such an assembly unfeasible before the June 21 presidential runoff.

Presidential candidate Iván Cepeda had previously indicated that a constituent assembly was possible if supported by a broad "national agreement" among various societal sectors. However, the proposal faced significant opposition from political parties and legal experts who questioned its necessity and warned of the risks associated with initiating such a process amid high political polarization. Some opponents speculated that Petro intended to use the assembly to enable presidential re-election.

The constituent assembly had no other objective than to improve the living conditions of the Colombian people and guarantee their fundamental rights once and for all, as enshrined in the 1991 Constitution.

— Gustavo PetroPresident Petro's explanation of the constituent assembly's purpose.

The decision to withdraw the constituent assembly initiative comes as Colombia heads into a crucial presidential runoff election. The current mandate of President Petro concludes on August 7.

If at the end of that dialogue the decision is to convene a constituent assembly, why not do it?

— Iván CepedaPresidential candidate Iván Cepeda on the possibility of a constituent assembly.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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