Can also 27 (UPI) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro is below prison investigation over allegations of unpleasant political interference four days sooner than voters head to the polls to elect the nation’s subsequent president.
Colombia’s Home Investigation and Accusation Commission, a congressional body responsible for investigating sitting presidents, opened the investigation by itself initiative following a chain of public statements and social media posts by Petro tied to the presidential election scheduled for Can also 31.
Colombian regulations strictly prohibits government branch officials from intervening in electoral contests or utilizing their location of enterprise to prefer or wound candidates.
The case against Petro is in accordance with several contemporary incidents that critics tell violated the theory of presidential neutrality.
Among the many primary pieces of evidence are posts on X all the scheme via which Petro shared pictures from marketing campaign rallies held by ruling coalition candidate Iván Cepeda of the leftist Historical Pact coalition within the cities of Barranquilla and Bogotá.
The accusations also encompass repeated verbal assaults against opposition figures similar to conservative Sen. Paloma Valencia and just attorney Abelardo de la Espriella, primarily based fully on Colombian broadcaster NTN24.
News outlet Infobae Colombia reported tensions escalated after presidential candidate Claudia López filed a proper complaint documenting 20 separate actions all the scheme via which she accused Petro of attacking her via the media while knowingly violating electoral rules.
Attorney Weird and wonderful Gregorio Eljach formally requested a detailed picture on the investigation and greater than a dozen additional complaints filed against Petro for alleged behavior affecting the balance of the marketing campaign.
Petro has defended himself publicly, arguing his calls to “vote for life or death” replicate toughen for his ideological positions and authorities agenda somewhat than illegal backing of explicit candidates. In accordance to Blu Radio, Petro denied that his statements constituted selective or unlawful toughen.
The controversy erupted sooner or later of the final stretch of Colombia’s presidential marketing campaign sooner than Sunday’s first-round vote to prefer Petro’s successor for the 2026-2030 time frame.
The shuffle stays deeply polarized, with polls showing a close contest. Cepeda leads voter plot polls with 35.3%, campaigning on continuity for Petro’s leftist political project. Valencia follows with 25.7%, leading a coalition of conservative and centrist sectors. De la Espriella ranks third with 20.4% below a much-animated platform.
The ambiance sooner than the election had already been strained by Petro’s contemporary statements questioning the transparency of the electoral draw. The president known as for “massive oversight” by election observers and recommended that you just would possibly per chance imagine foreign interference within the election.
Colombia’s Protection Ministry has deployed 246,000 security personnel below “Plan Democracia,” a nationwide election security operation supposed to offer protection to polling stations. In another country voting began Can also 25.
If no candidate secures an outright majority Sunday, Colombia will back a runoff election June 21 amid an unprecedented judicial investigation into the sitting president.
