Prosecutor’s Office asks to annul the election of Orlando Benítez, governor of Córdoba

The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation asked the Council of State to review whether Orlando David Benítez had incurred in double militancy, during his campaign for governor of Córdoba. The entity also asked that he investigate his brother’s participation in a position of administrative authority during last year’s elections. If proven, both facts would annul his election as president of the Cordovan.

On October 11, the control center presented two lawsuits before the State Council asking that the election of the governor of Córdoba, Orlando David Benítez, be annulled. The first process indicates that Benítez was unable to run for governor’s candidacy, for the current period 2020-2023, since his brother Juan Carlos Benítez held a position with administrative authority during the campaign.

On the other hand, the Attorney General’s Office presented a second process in which it ensures that the governor “He came to office for the Liberal Party and would have supported the mayoral campaigns of people from the La U party, so he could incur double membership.”

The response of the Council of State is expected to be known in the coming days, and if the thesis of the Prosecutor Benítez is proven, he would have to leave his position.

Invalidity by brother in charge of administrative authority

“In a 57-page document, known by El Espectador, the Attorney General’s Office supports the reasons why the election of Benítez should be annulled. Regarding the allegations in the first lawsuit, it is demonstrated that Juan Carlos Benítez, brother of the first president of Córdoba, served as deputy director of environmental planning of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Sinú Valley and the San Jorge River during a good part of 2019 ”, reported the diary.

When the brother of the current Cordovan governor was in the subdirectorate of environmental planning of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of the Sinú Valley and the San Jorge River, he served as administrative authority, something decisive in the case, since Colombian law prohibits a citizen from running for elections when one of his relatives with “blood kinship” is in this type of position.

“Consequently, the exercise of authority by Juan Carlos Benítez within the 12 months prior to the election of Orlando David Benítez as governor of Córdoba, allows to conclude that the defendant was incurred in grounds of incapacity and, therefore, should be annulled your choice ”, contemplates the document known by El Espectador.

The case of double militancy

The Attorney General’s Office also requested the annulment of the election of the governor of Córdoba due to a possible case of double membership. The plaintiff document ensures that Benítez “openly supported candidates from the parties of La U, Colombia Renaciente, Alianza Verde and Conservador.; political collectives other than the Liberal Party to which he was affiliated ”. According to El Espectador, these evidence against him “are irrefutable, since in fact they are public and even rest on the social networks of the then candidates.”

The Attorney General’s Office assured that Benítez would have given his support to: Eder Antonio de Hoyos, candidate for Mayor of Valencia for the La U party; Annabella Fernández Gómez, candidate for Mayor of San Andrés de Sotavento for the Green Alliance; Armando Alfonso Gómez Alean, endorsed by the Partido Colombia Renaciente; Féliz Gutiérrez, who was seeking to become mayor of Buenavista for La U. Also, relates that during this period he was seen with the candidates from Cereté, Ciénaga de Oro and San Pelayo.

The authority that will make the final decision in the case will be Judge Lucy Jeanette Bermúdez, of the Fifth Section of the Council of State, who will also study Benítez’s response to the lawsuit. He will also present a sentence project to his companions in robes who will be part of the verdict.