Evening star., 1949-11-28
Conservative Victor
In Colombian Election
Boycotted by Liberals
By the Associated Press

DVyIVuVu ~ LlUViu'S
BY the Associated Press
BOGOTA. Colombia. Nov. 28.-I
The Conservative Party announced
today it elected Laureano Gomez
President of Colombia by the
largest vote ever cast in this coun-
try by a single party. He was the
only candidate. The embittered
Liberal Party withdrew its nom
inee and boycotted the voting.
Nearly complete returns an
nounced by the Conservatives for
yesterdays balloting gave Gomez
956.3l5 votes. The Conservatives
now can lay claim to being the
majority party. The Liberals
claimed that position up to yes
terday on the basis of the 937 800
votes they polled in winning ma
jorities in both houses of Con- !
gress last June.
The candidacy of Dario Echan-
dia. the Liberal leader, was with
drawn when Mariana Ospina
Perez. Conservative President, pro-
claimed a state of siege three
weeks ago after long series of
violent outbreaks and bloodshed.
Hopes for Army Regime.
A leading Liberal spokesman,
Senator Carolos Lleras Restrepo,
limited yesterday the Liberals
hoped to set up an army regime
to combat the Conservative rule.
Lleras Restrepo spoke at the
funeral for Vincente Echandia,
the slain brother of the Liberal
candidate. He urged the crowd
at the funeral to forego violence
especially clashes with the army.
That institution is our hope |
for the salvation of the country"
the Senator said.
The crowd started gathering in
front of Dario Echandias S house
early Sunday, and filed past the
partly opened casket of Vincente.
The casket was carried on the
shoulders Of pallbearers to the
church at about II am. while
the voting proceeded, and it lay in
state there with Dario and other
members of the family standing
vigil.
Crowd Covers Block.
The crowd outside covered a
full block. Many shouted slogans
against the Ospina Perez govern
ment and against Gomez, and
Vivas for the Liberal Party. Dur
ing the procession to the cemetery
the crowd became so noisy that
Vice President Eduardo Santos.
the former Liberal President,
shouted:
This is not a fiesta-it is a
burial"
AS the casket slid into the grave
the crowd sang the national an
them and held hands high in the
"V" for victory sign.
Lleras Restrepo made a 20-min-
ute speech. urging undying re-
sistance to the Conservatives.
Liberal voters had outnumbered
the Conservatives in the previous
three municipal and congressional
elections. They hold a majority
in both houses Of Congress and
were planning to impeach Presi-
dent Ospina when his state Of
siege decree suspended meetings
Of Congress. .
No Violence During Voting.
No violence was reported on
election day. In recent months
500 or more persons had been re-
ported killed in political clashes.
Last-minute violence was re-
ported on election eve in the
provinces. The government said
several police and civilians were
killed by dynamite and knives
when a busload of officials was
attacked in Santa Catalina Dis
trict.
Prediction clashes between the
authorities and civilians were also
reported from Trinidad. Pore and
Cumaral. but there was no word
Of casualties.
Troops and police guarded the
polling places. Liquor sales had
been prohibited since Friday. Pc
destrians were searched by police
for forbidden guns and knives.
The Liberals had a reliable
check on whether their followers
had observed the boycott. To pre-
vent double balloting, each voter
dipped his finger in a bottle of
indelible ink.
Gomez Called Franco Admirer.
The successful presidential can
didate, Gomez, has been called an
admirer Of Generalissimo Franco
and accused of totalitarian tend
encies. His followers vigorously
deny the charges.
Gomez returned to Colombia last
June. after years exile in Spain.
He had fed there after the assas-
sination Of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan,
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Saint Potri<