Colombia’s election chief must be replaced to avoid chaos in the presidential elections, according to a coalition of election observers.

The non-governmental Electoral Oversight Alliance (AVE) asked the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court and the State Council to replace National Registrar Alexander Vega ahead of the presidential elections on May 29.

Vega came under fire after irregularities in the March 13 congressional elections sunk public confidence in electoral authorities, according to Electoral Observation Mission.

The Electoral Oversight Alliance asked the courts to intervene after the national registrar refused to take responsibility and resign voluntarily.

AVE executive Leon Valencia

In a press conference, the AVE executives exposed the failures that led to the elections “disaster.”

The elections “disaster”

The AVE executives said to be surprised that neither the Inspector General’s Office nor the Prosecutor General’s Office have opened investigations into Vega.

Unprecedented request

The non-government organizations said they have formally asked the courts to appoint an ad hoc registrar.

The request is unprecedented.

The presidents of the three courts are responsible for the election of the national registrar, but have never dismissed the country’s top election official.

Nobody knows how the appointment of an ad hoc registrar would affect the upcoming presidential elections.

The NGO’s believe that Vega’s may bungle the presidential elections.

As a consequence of the chaos in the congressional elections, aspiring members of the House of Representatives still don’t know whether they were elected.

The Electoral Oversight Alliance

State Council investigating Vega’s election

The State Council summed Vega to testify on Wednesday.

This hearing is not related to a 2019 request to dismiss the national registrar, which claims his election was illegal.

According to this lawsuit, Vega wasn’t qualified to apply for the job until the former presidents of the high courts changed the requisites at the last minute.

These allegedly illegal changes allowed Vega not just to apply for the job but be elected as national registrar.

The State Council effectively ignored the lawsuit for years until Vega’s apparent incompetence all but destroyed public confidence in the election authorities.