Colombia’s Supreme Court failed to elect a new national prosecutor general for the twelfth time in a year, because they could not reach a consensus on which candidate should fill the position.
Margarita Cabello Blanco continues to lead the vote as court’s preferred candidate, winning eleven votes this time round. She was followed by Jorge Anibal Gomez with eight votes and Marco Antonio Velilla with six.
The election, which the court rescheduled for early July, failed yet again because none of the candidates managed to obtain the sixteen votes required to elect a prosecutor general.
The saga of the election of a new prosecutor general has been ongoing for a year, with the court unable to reach the necessary consensus.
Gabriela Carina Knaul de Albuquerque e Silva, the UN special rapporteur on judicial independence, has expressed concern about the election, saying in a draft report that prolonged delays could “compromise the credibility of the entire justice system” of Colombia.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has said that the ongoing delays in electing the new prosecutor general threaten the country’s democratic institutions and the rule of law.
