FARC pulls out of Colombia's presidential race

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FARC, Colombia's former rebel group, has announced that it will not contest presidential elections in May, given the state of health of its leader and presidential candidate.

In a statement on Thursday, the group said that Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, alias "Timochenko," underwent open-heart surgery on Wednesday.

FARC, or the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force, said that Timochenko would need several weeks to recover and would not be in a fit state to run a campaign.

It will, however, have candidates in Sunday's congressional election, its first outing as an unarmed political party, after it demobilized under a 2016 peace deal with the government.

Shaio Clinic, where Colombia's FARC leader and presidential candidate Rodrigo Londono is hospitalized in Bogota, Colombia, March 7, 2018. /Reuters Photo

FARC said attacks by the right wing, including protests at their events, were a further reason for pulling out of the presidential election.

Londono canceled campaigning last month after his motorcade was pelted with tomatoes and eggs by angry protesters.

The recently formed party also called on the public to turn out and vote for FARC candidates in elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives on Sunday.

Colombia's FARC leader and presidential candidate Rodrigo Londono speaks during a news conference in Bogota, Colombia, February 28. /Reuters Photo

The group also reiterated its willingness to continue fighting for unity and reconciliation in Colombia.

"We express our willingness to dialogue with all political sectors in order to build bridges to make the perspective of a great national convergence into a reality," it said. "The common people will count on Congress... to work tirelessly for the proposals of democratic peace with social justice."

FARC also called for the end of all politically motivated violence.

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Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency