This Tuesday began the hearing that convened the National Electoral Council (CNE), to which several senators were summoned, among them Iván Marulanda of the Alianza Verde party as well as the president of the Senate, Juan Diego Gómez and the secretary of that chamber, Gregorio Eljach Pacheco, to deliver their testimony, since it will be evaluated whether or not there was a violation of the Statute of Opposition.
In Marulanda’s intervention it was known that that day, long before the vote for the Second Vice Presidency of the Senate, which had been agreed between the opposition would be for Senator Gustavo Bolívar, Senator Name told Marulanda that he was going to be postulated because the majorities were going to vote blank, leaving Bolívar out.
“Minutes before the voting began (for the second vice presidency), Senator Iván Name approached the seat and told me that he wanted to inform me that in the vote for the second vice presidency the number of blank votes would exceed the number of votes for Senator Gustavo Bolívar. Then he added that they would nominate his name to be elected second vice president “Marulanda said.
This is important within what the CNE studies, since the Opposition Statute is clear that someone from a political party who has already held office can only be nominated if the opposition parties reach a consensus. Situation that was not experienced that day, since Alianza Verde ended up nominating Iván Name without the support of the rest of the opposition benches, but with the support of the Senate majorities, that is, the independent and government parties.
That day, Senator Angélica Lozano assured that the decision to nominate Name for the position came in the 10-minute recess they requested after Bolívar was defeated by the blank vote. “Sandra Ortiz nominated him and I told him to first wait if those of the Historical Pact proposed another name. But they didn’t “Lozano said to the Empty Chair.
The version of Marulanda joins that of the representative also of the greens Katherine Miranda, who that July 20 warned that they had already informed him of a “little game” that was going to play his game.
Here you can see Marulanda’s intervention:
During the hearing, Senator Gustavo Bolívar stated that he and several members of the opposition had known, days before, that a blank vote was going to take place against them., but still they decided not to change the candidate for the precedent that he could leave.
“We already knew about that result from the previous two nights. They told me: they are going to vote blank “, he assured in the public hearing of the CNE. As a result of that information, he decided to know what would happen to the result, so he called the Secretary of the Senate, Gregorio Eljach, who advises the board of directors on the corresponding rules and jurisprudence.
“I called him, I said: Mr. Secretary Eljach, I know that you will win the blank vote, because they already told me that you will win the blank vote, do me a favor and tell me what will happen in that case “, and he told me the same about 258, the senator said.
Bolívar was referring to article 258 of the Political Constitution, specifically paragraph 1, in which he says: “The voting to elect members of a public corporation, governor, mayor or the first round in the presidential elections must be repeated once, when the blank votes constitute an absolute majority. in relation to valid votes. In the case of unipersonal elections, the same candidates may not stand, while in those of public corporations, lists that have not reached the threshold may not be presented for the new elections. “.
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