Polo Democratico, the party of suspended Bogota Mayor Samuel Moreno, has provided President Juan Manuel Santos with the required shortlist of candidates from which he must decide upon a replacement, reported several media sources.
The disgraced mayor was suspended on Tuesday May 3 by Colombia’s Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez for his alleged implication in the Bogota public works corruption scandal, in which the Nule Group construction firm were fraudulently awarded contracts in return for a commission.
Polo Democratico identified Tarsicio Mora, president of the workers union (CUT), Mariella Barragan, the secretary of district economic development, and Jaime Moreno, ex-magistrate of the State Council and current member of the party’s ethics committee.
The presentation of the three mayoral candidates was only achieved after apparently several failed attempts at agreeing on the list, with the party still plagued by in-fighting over the selected trio, Caracol reported.
Senator Luis Carlos Avellaneda, also of the Polo Democratico, announced his intention to initiate legal action after claiming that “I think that the list is illegal and unconstitutional, so we’re going to sue before the National Electoral Council.”
He claims that there was no consensus and that statutes were violated, to which the party’s chairman Clara Lopez has responded that his actions are “reckless and irresponsible.”
The current interim replacement mayor, Maria Fernanda Campo, will remain in the post until Santos makes his decision as to who will replace Samuel Moreno, although that could be delayed if the National Electoral Council deems the shortlist to be void.
