Years after being removed from office, former Senator Piedad Cordoba — one of Colombia’s most prominent leftist politicians, could have her electoral rights restored.
The country’s State Council agreed Monday to admit a revision of the sentence of the staunchly conservative Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez.
Both Cordoba and Ordoñez are highly controversial in Colombia.
In spite of support from ethnic minorities, Cordoba (Liberal Party) has been one of the country’s least popular politicians due to ongoing accusations she maintained ties to Marxist rebel group FARC and the socialist government of Venezuela.
While Cordoba has long and openly supported the Venezuelan governments of late President Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro, she has consistently said her contact with the FARC was because at the time she was negotiating the release of hostages held by the far left guerrillas.
Ordoñez’ has come under fire after a number of shady rulings and investigations against leaders of the left in which he ignored protection measures granted by the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights.
But according to Ordoñez his sentences have been fair as he also removed a number of conservative politicians from office for proven ties to far right paramilitary groups.
In 2010, the Inspector General barred the then-senator from holding public office for 18 years using evidence of her alleged ties to the FARC that had been dismissed by the Supreme Court as possibly manipulated.
Since then, Cordoba has been trying to get her political rights restored with little success until now.
With peace talks with the FARC estimated to be only months away from ending the hemisphere’s longest running armed conflict, the State Council vowed to study the sentence and calls to undo the Inspector General’s sentence.
If the State Council agrees with Cordoba, she will not just have her rights restored, but also be able to sue the state for damages.