Colombia’s executive and judicial powers found themselves in a new stand off after the Supreme Court rejected the President’s shortlist of candidate Prosecutors General.
The Supreme Court Thursday returned the shortlist, stating none of the three candidates picked by President Alvaro Uribe was qualified to lead the Prosecutor’s General’s Office.
In response, Interior and Justice Minister Fabio Valencia Cossio insisted all three are qualified and said the Government would simply wait until the Supreme Court elects one of the proposed candidates.
The Supreme Court has been reluctant for months to pick the new Prosecutor General amid criticism that none of the candidates have any experience in penal law. One of the candidates is involved in a bribery investigation.
Two of the three candidates, responding on national radio, insist they are qualified for the job and refuse to withdraw their candidacy.
The clash between Presidency and high court follows a large number of conflicts. The Court, actively prosecuting lawmakers with alleged ties to paramilitary death squads and officials who are accused of bribery, is accused by the Uribe administration of bias and ties to illegal armed groups.