The government of Colombia maintains that its three shortlisted candidates for Prosecutor General meet all necessary criteria.
After the Supreme Court declared the election of the Prosecutor unfeasible, and said that none of the three candidates were qualified for the position, the government maintained that they are eligible, as they have legal competence, legitimacy and relevance.
Through an official statement from the Presidency, the government again asked the Court to select the next head of the national investigative body, in order to avoid defaulting in meeting its constitutional obligation.
According to the government, Juan Ángel Palacio, Camilo Ospina and Virginia Uribe all meet the criteria necessary to make the shortlist.
1. Legal competence: The President of the Republic is constitutionally and legally required to put forth a shortlist for the position of Prosecutor General, and the Supreme Court is required to choose a candidate from that shortlist.
2. Legitimacy: For the past seven years under the Democratic Security Policy, the government has reduced crime and general terrorism, daily El Espectador reports. The three shortlisted candidates would all continue that trend and are committed to the fight against crime in Colombia.
3. Eligibility: President Alvaro Uribe examined the shortlist according to five subcategories: academic competence, professional competence, career history, decision-making capacity to deal with all crimes, and managerial capacity, to run the Prosecutor General’s Office with more than twenty thousand employees.