Colombia’s Senate reelects Inspector General

Colombia’s Senate on Tuesday re-elected the conservative Alejandro Ordoñez as Inspector General for another four year term.

According to newspaper El Espectador, “the choice was not surprising since he had the support of the majority of Senate.”

Ordoñez, who is a member of the Conservative party, won a total of 80 votes, with his only opponent Orlando Gallo Suarez receiving two and Maria Mercedez Lopez received five votes.

Lopez, who had been proposed for a three-person shortlist by President Juan Manuel Santos, had dropped out of the race earlier in the day, claiming there had been no guarantees for a fair race.

One Senator from the opposition Democratic Pole party called the election of Inspector General, “unconstitutional” and accused Ordoñez of “cronyism.”

Ordoñez has been accused of “buying the election” by appointing jobs in his office to family members of senators and judges.

The staunch catholic has been a fairly controversial public figure in Colombia due to his remarks  on topics such as abortion and gay rights.

 

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