The Plenary Chamber of the National Electoral Council (CNE) approved the presentation for open an investigation and file charges against the president of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, as presidential candidate and four other members of his campaign for the alleged irregularities and violation of electoral limits.
According to the newspaper EL TIEMPO, the presentation received a ‘green light’ this Tuesday, October 8, thanks to six votes in favor from the judges. César Lorduy (Radical Change), Maritza Martínez (U party), Alfonso Campo (Conservative Party), Cristian Ricardo Quiroz (Green Alliance), Benjamín Ortiz (Liberal) and Álvaro Hernán Prada (Democratic Center).
Of them, Ortiz and Prada had been the ones who filed the presentation since last May to investigate Petro and the members of his campaign.
Judges Alba Lucía Velásquez and Fabiola Márquez saved their vote.
It must be remembered that, since 2017, the violation of electoral limits has criminal effects.
Another fault pointed out in the presentation and for which an investigation was opened is the alleged prohibited financing, when receiving contributions from legal entities: Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode), Ingenial Media SAS and Union Sindical Obrera (USO).
In addition to Petro as a candidate, the others investigated are Ricardo Roa Barragán, current president of Ecopetrol and who was manager of the presidential campaign; María Lucy Soto Caro and Juan Carlos Lemus Gómez, as auditors, already Lucy Aydee Mogollón Alfonso, as treasurer. Also to the Colombia Humana Political Movement and Patriotic Union parties.
The research figures
The five investigated are accused of “the alleged violation of the spending limit in the first round campaign for the sum of $3,709,361,342, based on the provisions of article 109 of the Constitution, article 24 of Law 1475 of 2011, articles 12 and 19 of the Law 996 of 2005 in accordance with the provisions of Resolution 0694 of 2022 adopted by the Corporation“.
The faults that would have been committed would be:
1. Skip the contribution made by Fecode for the sum of $500,000,000.
2. Omit the report of the loan made by the Polo Democrático Alternativo party for the sum of $500,000,000.
3. Omit the report of payment to electoral witnesses for the sum of $931,290,000.
4. Omit the report of expenses for electoral propaganda for the sum of $356,102,872.
5. Omit the report of payments made since the 2022 Senate campaign of the Historic Pact Coalition for the sum of $202,471,731.
6. Skip the income and expense report for the air transportation service for the sum of $1,249,793,230.
7. Omit the report of the contributions made by the USO worth $121,544,000.
For the second round, “They are charged for the alleged violation of the expenditure limit for the sum of $1,646,386,773, based on the provisions of article 109 of the Constitution, article 24 of Law 1475 of 2011, articles 12 and 19 of Law 996 of 2005 in accordance with the provisions of Resolution 0694 of 2022 adopted by the Corporation“.
In this case, the faults committed would have been:
1. Omit the expense report for payment of the event held on June 19, 2022, at the Movistar Arena, worth $100,000,000
2. Omit the report of payment to electoral witnesses for the sum of $177,680,000.
3. Skip the income and expense report for the air transportation service for the sum of $962,957,784.
4. Omit the report of income and expenses for payments made by the Colombia Humana Political Movement for the sum of $530,579,983.
5. Omit the report of the contributions made by the USO worth $379,019,511.
Colombia Humana Political Movement and Patriotic Union.
Finally, the CNE explained that an investigation was opened against the Colombia Humana Political Movement and the Patriotic Union Political Party (UP). as political organizations designated in the coalition agreement as responsible for auditing and reporting income and expenditures of the presidential campaign “first round of the Historic Pact Coalition for allegedly allowing the financing of the presidential campaign with prohibited financing sources“.
Those prohibited sources would be: Fecode, Ingenial Media SAS and the USO.
Both parties, moreover, “they would have failed to comply with the duties of diligence in the application of the constitutional and legal provisions that regulate the organization, operation, and financing of political organizations, based on the provisions of article 109 of the Constitution, article 8, paragraphs 1 and 3 of the article 10 of Law 1475 of 2011 and article 14 of Law 996 of 2005“.
CAMILO HERNÁNDEZ M.
Digital Portfolio Editor
