Colombia's CNE authorizes 4.99 billion pesos for Claudia López

Colombia’s National Electoral Council (CNE) has authorized the reimbursement of approximately 4.99 billion pesos to former presidential candidate Claudia López. This decision follows her participation in the ‘Consulta de las Soluciones’ held on March 8, where she received 573,104 valid votes.

The CNE established a rate of 8,710 pesos per valid vote. From the gross total of 4,991,735,840 pesos, a 1% deduction (49,917,358 pesos) will be applied to fund mandatory external auditing. Additionally, the National Political Financing Fund excluded 304,200 pesos due to campaign expenses deemed unrelated to the electoral process.

This ruling sets a precedent for other candidates who surpassed the 4% threshold in recent consultations. For instance, Senator Paloma Valencia and Juan Daniel Oviedo are expected to receive reimbursements, though final amounts will be subject to strict audits to ensure they do not exceed actual justified campaign expenditures.