On the morning of September 8, President Gustavo Petro issued a statement in which he assured that “The defeated in 2022 are preparing a coup against change in Colombia and the people’s vote“. The statement It comes amid investigations by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which have resulted in the president being stripped of his full immunity.
Over the past few days, The president has assured that the CNE is not the competent body to carry out the investigation. In X’s statement he said: “With votes from political enemies of the president in the electoral council and then in the impeachment commission, they will seek to remove him without having committed any crime, without any malice, and to mock the popular vote of 2022.”.
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The September 9 statement joins the one issued on September 8, also through X, in which Petro rejected the CNE measures, not only because he considered that the entity should not initiate the investigation, but because He stated that he does not comply with the measures taken in the midst of it: “I do not accept that through a document from a consultation room of the Council of State that has no binding force, the Electoral Council has stripped me of the integral constitutional immunity that protects me.”.
Gustavo Petro
Private file
And although on September 8 he had already rejected the CNE measures, on the morning of September 9 the president He not only expressed his discontent, but also called for support from popular mobilization. “I call upon that sleeping giant, the Colombian people: its youth, its peasantry, its workers, its women to mobilize in the streets against the coup d’état.“.
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In the face of alarming statements, the reactions of other political figures call for respect for institutions and democracy. José Manuel Restrepo, former Minister of Finance and of Commerce, Industry and Tourismresponded to Petro’s statement in X: “The decision of the Council of State to settle a conflict of administrative competences is not a non-binding concept. On the contrary, it is a formal decision, of a definitive and binding nature according to Law 954 of 2005, which added a paragraph to the administrative litigation code.“.
And ended with: “In short, there is no coup d’état. What is simply being applied is what the constitution and the law provide for and it is taking place within the framework of the current democratic institutions. My suggestion is to respect this institutionality and this democracy, which in its wisdom will know how to act, instead of dividing us further as a country.“.
Gustavo Petro.
EFE
However, The president has also received support from his cabinet. Roy Barreras, Colombian ambassador in London, He said: “The strange non-binding concept of the @consejodeestado is a legal error and a dangerous political decision. The Cortes must distance themselves from political passions.”
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President Petro has remained firm in his position of recent days, and reiterates his desire to call for a march in protection of the current government.To the citizens who voted for me today with doubts, to the citizens who voted for Rodolfo Hernández I also call for widespread mobilization. (…) For decades I have fought for a path of peaceful, reasoned and democratic transformations in favor of the people. That is why the task of defending democracy is for all the people whether or not they voted for me.“.
Although the CNE has not yet commented on the matter, the statement issued on September 2 made its position clear: Just as they investigated the campaigns of former presidents Iván Duque and Juan Manuel Santos, they will investigate the campaign of the elected president and, if necessary, impose fines or refunds.
PORTFOLIO
