This week’s decision by Colombia’s State Council to nullify more
than 33,000 votes cast in the 2006 Senate election came ‘tardy’,
coalition party De la U and opposition party Polo Democratico say.
According to De la U secretary general Mario Solano, whose party fears to lose one seat because of the ruling, it is “the saddest thing of Justice” that the judicial body took three years to nullify the votes.
“We hope that this is a signal for all of the justice sector and for its decongestion. Rulings should be handed down in a prompt and proactive way,” the party secretary told newspaper El Tiempo.
Despite probably gaining a seat in Colombia’s higher House, opposition party Polo Democratico also regrets the ruling came “tardy.” According to a party spokesman, “there is injustice when justice comes late.”
However, the party is happy with the possible extra seat. “This is going to improve the disbalance between the majority that supports the government and the opposition that lacks a good representation,” senator Luis Carlos Avellaneda said.
The State Council Wednesday ordered the recount of more than 33,000 votes after it established electoral fraud in the elections.
One senator lost her seat because she was serving a government contract half a year before the elections. Senator Martha Lucia Ramirez had already resigned from this seat because she is running for the 2010 presidency.