In the spotlight: backtracking on the recount of the votes of the senatoriales in Colombia
The head of the Colombian Electoral Authority, Alexander Vega, during a press conference on March 22, 2022. © AFP
Text by: Marie Normand Follow
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There will finally be no
recount of the votes
of the senatorials in Colombia.
The head of the electoral authority, Alexander Vega, “
surprised
” this weekend, declaring “
that he was going to ask the National Electoral Council to recount the votes of the March 13 elections for the Senate
”, recalls
El Tiempo
.
In question: inconsistencies in the initial count, which raised suspicions of fraud, on the right as on the left.
“
A proposal without precedent in the recent history of the country
”, sums up the newspaper.
But Tuesday morning, during a meeting before the Electoral Guarantees Commission, Alexander Vega "
failed to reach a consensus
" with the political parties and finally indicated that he would not make this request for a new count.
Calls for the resignation of the clerk
A reversal denounced by part of the press: for
El Espectador
, “
Alexánder Vega has lost the confidence of Colombians
”.
The columnist judges that "
his actions have only encouraged speeches of '
fraud'
throughout the country
".
He calls for the appointment of another official before May 29, in order to "
guarantee confidence in the results of the presidential election
".
For
El Pais
, a Cali newspaper, this affair "
has left a huge stain on the management and transparency of the elections
" and threatens to affect "
the credibility of Colombian democracy
".
► To read also: There will be no recount of the votes in the senatorial of Colombia
United States: a tornado kills at least one in New Orleans
The
videos
and photos published by the American press this Wednesday show the disbelief of the inhabitants of New Orleans, at the sight of the monster which fell down last night in a densely populated area of the city of Louisiana.
The tornado caused at least one death and heavy damage.
"
More than
16,000 people are without electricity
,” says
Nola.com
.
Electric poles were uprooted, cars overturned in the middle of the road, houses were destroyed or "
displaced from their foundations
", explains the representative of a parish in the
Washington
Post
.
Unheard of, he says, since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Miami Beach: the crowd asked to leave the beaches at midnight
A nighttime curfew is in place in Miami Beach, Florida, from midnight to 6 a.m., starting this Wednesday evening.
Officially, it is a question of stemming a wave of violence by firearms.
All in the middle of Spring Break - spring university break, and when the beaches are a popular place for parties.
A rare decision, explains the
Miami Herald
, reserved for emergencies and natural disasters.
“
Critics accuse city leaders of overreacting to the mostly black [Spring Break] crowds that have been mostly peaceful so far
,” the paper noted.
“
The only emergency is that black people are on the beach
said the Miami-Dade Black Advisory Council, for example.
"
City officials [them] said Monday that a state of emergency was necessary because of two shootings that occurred in two nights
," recalls the
Miami Herald
.
► Read also:
Miami Beach imposes a curfew during spring break after shootings
Canada: the difficult post-Covid era for Quebec restaurateurs
Today there are “
3,666
fewer restaurants in Quebec than two years ago ,”
Le Devoir
noted
on Wednesday.
“
It is therefore around 17% of the establishments that have disappeared and, with them, the dreams of the cooking enthusiasts who had founded them”,
calculates the Canadian newspaper.
The Association Restauration Québec “
deplores that the Quebec budget tabled on Tuesday does not contain any new direct stimulus measures for its industry, while the rise in food prices and the shortage of labor add to the difficulties experienced by restaurateurs
.
She “
fears that the number of establishments will continue to plummet
”, because “
the financial aid ends soon
".
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