Colombia votes Sunday in local elections, but for many candidates, simply surviving the vote will be cause for celebration. Seven have been killed  since campaigning began in June. More than 60 have been attacked.

CGTN’s Michelle Begue looks at what’s behind the violence.

It is campaign season in Colombia and for those running, the biggest fear isn’t defeat.

“The lack of respect for political differences, on all sides, has always been resolved in this country through violence,” said Jose David Moreno, a political analyst and professor at Bogota’s Tadeo University. “So in a country that is highly polarized at the moment, it isn’t surprising to see political violence re-emerge.”

On October 27t 117,000 candidates will stand in elections for governor, mayor, local councils, even though running for office here is dangerous. According to the Colombian Foundation for Peace and Reconciliation, there have been 230 victims of election-related violence, including 22 murders.

In September, assassins killed mayoral candidate Karina Garcia along with five others, including her mother. Their charred vehicle showed damage from heavy gunfire and a grenade blast. She had asked the government for protection but received none.

“She was participating in the political process and as a result of that, of wanting the best for this town and the best for its community, she was subjected to violence from supporters of other candidates,” said her father, Orlando Garcia.

One step toward solving the problem, said Moreno, would be in building tolerance and respect for opposing views.

“We are seeing victims from all political parties and that is very discouraging because it speaks of a situation that goes against democracy and the freedom of expression,” he said.

Moreno said justice remains elusive in most cases partly because of drug traffickers who operate in the country’s more remote regions.

“You see problems in all the regions which have roads that lead to the Pacific coast, which is the exit for the drug trade,” Moreno said. “But that isn’t the only illegal trade; there is also illegal mining.”

Just days from the elections, Colombian President Ivan Duque said authorities are investigating the perpetrators of political violence, but for the victims, it is too late.