Independent and opposition parties do not recognize Petro’s government as a guarantor of the electoral process.

The seat of opposition senator Miguel Uribe Turbay remains covered with a Colombian flag, a lit white candle, and a small sign that says: “We are waiting for you.” His colleagues from the Democratic Center and other political parties, regardless of ideology, hope that the presidential candidate will recover soon from the assassination attempt he suffered on Saturday afternoon in Bogotá and can return to his post in the Capitol.

However, his health remains extremely critical, with “little response” to the medical interventions he has undergone, as reported on Monday by the Santa Fe Foundation, where he is hospitalized. In light of this reality, the presidents of the Senate, Efraín Cepeda, and of the Chamber, Jaime Raúl Salamanca, suspended debates in their plenaries in solidarity with the health of the congressman and presidential candidate.

“We accept the request from the Democratic Center to suspend the deliberation of the Senate of the Republic in solidarity with Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay following the atrocious attempt against him,” said Cepeda. During the plenary session, only Gabriel Vallejo, director of Uribe Turbay’s party, spoke. The former congressman called on President Gustavo Petro’s government to expedite the investigation into a possible plot to attack former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, founder of that party. “This information is not a game. We demand that the national government protect the life of President Uribe and openly tell the country what information Colombian intelligence has.”

Minutes before the informal session in the Senate chamber, the nine independent and opposition parties announced that they do not recognize the president and Minister of the Interior, Armando Benedetti, as guarantors of the electoral process. Delegates from the Conservative Party, Democratic Center, Liberal Party, Party of the U, Cambio Radical, Mira, ASI, Anti-Corruption League, and Colombia Justa y Libre announced that they would not participate in the meeting of the National Electoral Monitoring and Control Commission called for Monday afternoon by the president.

These groups, which hold 60 of the 105 Senate seats, requested Attorney General Gregorio Eljach to lead the commission. “Fear, uncertainty, polarization, and the audacity of crime have captured national life, sowing insecurity in all areas of our society. Far from calming this crisis, the national government, led by President Gustavo Petro, seems intent on worsening it,” said Conservative Cepeda.

Eljach, who was participating in the meeting called by Petro and who was appointed by the president, later stated that he would do everything possible to reach common ground with all political sectors. “They preferred not to come, but they are calling on the attorney general to enter into discussions and seek solutions. This request we have received will be considered promptly, and we will create convergence scenarios to move toward a solution, change the tone, and look at a common point,” said the attorney general during his speech. He also welcomed the president’s acceptance to lower the tone of the discourse to avoid new confrontations. “Let the discussion be reasoned, grounded, and let us not resort to insults to express our opinions. We can speak calmly, peacefully, and in tranquility.”