A/HRC/7/39 page 6 forces’ offensives. These dynamics are more directly observed in the south of the Department of Córdoba, in the Urabá-Chocó area, eastern Antioquia, the north of Santander, the north of Tolima, Nariño, Putumayo, Guaviare, Vichada and Arauca. 7. The Government authorized and sponsored a number of initiatives of its own8 and of third parties, to make contact with FARC-EP, with varying degrees of support. Its intention was to find agreements which would lead to the release of hostages in exchange for imprisoned guerrillas and, perhaps, eventually lead to peace talks. There was enormous consternation when the 11 deputies from the Departmental Assembly of Valle del Cauca had been murdered,9 after being held by FARC-EP since 2002. Their death was met with a unanimous outcry by Colombians, leading to massive protests, and a widespread movement of public opinion urging the release of all the kidnap victims. A mixture of shock and grief also shook the nation with the publication of pictures of the hostages and letters written by them to their families, seized by the authorities from FARC-EP agents in late November, which showed their deplorable situation. All of this reminded people at home and abroad that those who fall into the hands of illegal armed groups remain permanently defenceless and vulnerable. Some of them have already been held for as long as 10 years.10 8. On 28 October 2007 elections were held nationwide for regional and local authorities. Governors and members of local assemblies were elected in the 32 departments, mayors and councillors in 1,094 municipalities, four metropolitan districts, and for local wards. Candidates were nominated from a broad range of political groups.11 The voter turnout was high and the results confirmed the country’s political plurality. The mobilization of the forces of law and order contributed to security at the polls. During the polling day, a climate of normality prevailed. However, before and after that day, there were isolated acts of violence.12 There were death threats and even murders in some places, mainly by guerrilla groups (especially FARC-EP), although some were attributed to members of the new illegal armed groups, drug-traffickers and criminal gangs who threatened the lives of numerous candidates and 8 For example, they identified over 180 imprisoned members of FARC-EP, including one of its leaders, for unilateral release. 9 See Organization of American States, “Conclusiones de la Comisión Forense Internacional para esclarecer las circunstancias en torno a la muerte de los Diputados colombianos del Valle del Cauca en junio de 2007”, document OAS/Ser. G., CP/INF. 5545/07, 18 September 2007. 10 See section on “Guerrilla groups” (paras. 45-49). 11 The National Registry Office reported that 61,949 candidates were registered. 12 Results in 18 municipalities in the departments of Atlántico, Bolívar, Boyacá, Caquetá, Cesar, Huila, Magdalena, Nariño and Santander were challenged for supposed irregularities, such as vote-buying or obstacles to voters and threats to officials in charge. Disturbances in a few places caused damage to the Registrar’s Office, local government offices and private homes.