Colombia’s Supreme Court failed to pick a new chief prosecutor from a presidential shortlist for the fourth consecutive time.
Also in the latest vote, none of the three candidates put forth by President Gustavo Petro obtained the necessary 16 of 23 votes.
Consequently, acting Prosecutor General Martha Mancera will remain in office, despite concern about her involvement in covering up corruption.
In between recesses, the Supreme Court magistrates have voted on Petro’s prosecution list four times since December last year.
The court was supposed to have elected a successor of former Prosecutor General Francisco Barbosa before February 8.
In order to expedite the pick, Supreme Court president Gerson Chaverra announced an extraordinary court session on Tuesday.
In late February, the court president said there was a “a good outlook for the election.”
Delays in the election of a new prosecutor general have been common since 2010 when the court failed to vote on chief prosecutor candidates put forth by former President Alvaro Uribe.
The latest delay is sensitive because of pending court cases against some of Colombia’s most powerful players in politics, including Uribe.
At the same time, the prosecution has been severely weakened by corruption and politicking.
The court’s failure to timely pick a new prosecutor led to protests around the Palace of Justice in February.
Unrest in Bogota after Colombia’s Supreme Court fails to pick new chief prosecutor
International organizations like the United Nations’ human rights office and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have also called for a speedy election.
In order to comply with the constitution, the Supreme Court must pick a chief prosecutor from thee candidates put forth by the president.
