Leaked resolution bypasses constitutional procedures required to suspend a President.

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Armando Benedetti rejected a leaked legislative resolution that seeks to temporarily suspend Gustavo Petro as President of Colombia before the presidential runoff scheduled for June 21.

RELATED:

Ivan Cepeda Denounces Right-wing False Flag Plot in Colombia

The document corresponds to the Interlocutory Order No. 002, dated June 10 and signed solely by Gloria Arizabaleta, a member of the House of Representatives’ Investigation and Accusation Commission.

Described as a legally nonexistent document by members of the Commission itself, the resolution orders Petro’s suspension on the grounds that he allegedly engaged in political intervention, an offense defined in Article 60 of Law 1952.

Benedetti said the attempt violates the Constitution and explained that the Accusation Commission operates as an investigative body and does not have the authority to suspend a head of state.

Under Article 194 of the Constitution, only the Senate may suspend a president, and it may do so only after the full House of Representatives acts as the accusing body in criminal or disciplinary matters.

The text reads, “Representative Gloria Arizabaleta, who requested the suspension of President Gustavo Petro, declined to comment further to avoid being recused. She confirmed that she has already filed the motion with the Accusations Committee.”

More specifically, the constitutional procedure requires that any resolution of this kind be voted on by the commission, forwarded to the full House, then sent to an investigative committee composed of five senator-lawyers, and finally submitted to a vote by the full Senate. None of these steps were completed.

Jorge Ocampo, a member of the Investigation and Accusation Commission, said that at the time the resolution was leaked to the press, the commission session had not even begun and no decision had been made. He further indicated that there had been no intention to discuss the resolution. Ocampo therefore warned that these were political maneuvers occurring just days before the runoff.

Legislator Alirio Uribe Muñoz also stated that the leaked document has no legal existence because it did not even complete the basic administrative filing procedure before the Commision’s secretariat.

A few hours later, President Petro responded to the developments, stating that the document violated Colombian legal norms and that the Accusation Commission “is not the body that suspends” a president.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

IN THIS ARTICLE