Uribe Rebuts Voting Irregularities ClaimsSaturday May 27, 2006 11:16 AM
AP Photo XFV103
By JOSHUA GOODMAN
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - President Alvaro Uribe has taken to the airwaves to assure Colombians that Sunday's elections would be the fairest and most transparent in decades, rebutting claims by his far-behind challengers of last-minute irregularities. A close U.S. ally who backs liberalized trade and emphasizes law and order, Uribe led his closest challenger by more than 30 points in the final pre-election poll last week.
"The guarantees are real, not rhetorical, for the opposition and everyone else in this election," Uribe told RCN radio Friday, responding to complaints about election preparations and procedures from two main challengers.
The Alternative Democratic Pole party, or PDA, said authorities arbitrarily ordered the transfer of at least 200 polling stations from rural areas to urban centers, arguing the move could affect hundreds of thousands of voters.
The decision may be part of a strategy by Uribe backers to sabotage the candidacy of Sen. Carlos Gaviria, said Samuel Moreno Rojas, head of the PDA. Questions also were raised about the exclusion of hundreds of teachers believed to be Gaviria sympathizers from local, vote-counting committees.
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