Senator Hernán Andrade said that the four party candidates agree, although candidate Andres Felipe Arias said he was still insisting “that the meeting of 27 September [be held]”.
Senator Andrade said that the issue is whether or not the meeting would be held next year to open up to further nominations. This is a crucial point because it will determine whether Noemi Sanin and other potential conservative candidates will be able to enter the presidential race.
The Conservative Party is looking into lodging an administrative appeal against the National Electoral Council’s ruling that forces them to make a selection at their next Party meeting on 27 September. The appeal would have to be lodged within the next three days.
A committee of three senators and three representatives to the Chamber, members of the Party board and the candidates will make a final decision regarding when and how to hold an internal meeting.
The National Electoral Council’s decision to overturn the Conservative Party’s postponement of the vote was spurred by candidate Andres Felipe Arias, who claimed that he was not notified of the postponement.
However, Lucas Cañas, member of the Conservative Party board, said in a statement to newspaper El Tiempo that Arias was aware of the decision.
“On 26 August of this year, the board announced its decision to postpone the vote. At that time, in a full meeting of the National Party Directorate, Arias said that he would abide by the extent of the postponement,” Cañas said.