Colombia’s Supreme Court decided on Wednesday to postpone the election of the successor of Prosecutor General Francisco Barbosa.
During a session, the Supreme Court decided to begin the voting process on January 25 next year.
The court was expected to begin voting on the three candidates proposed by President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday, but decided to push this process forward until after its Christmas recess.
Colombia’s Supreme Court to elect new chief prosecutor
The outgoing chief prosecutor, a close friend of former President Ivan Duque, will leave office on February 12.
If the court fails to elect a new prosecution chief before the end of this date, Barbosa’s deputy Martha Mancera will automatically become acting prosecutor general.
The reputation of Mancera, like that of Barbosa, has been marred by mounting allegations of corruption and political persecution.
These allegations were echoed by the president on Wednesday.
Petro said on social media that he hoped that, following the Supreme Court vote, “the prosecution will never again dedicate itself to persecuting Colombians for political reasons and never again will be allowed to be used to cover up crime.”
The president and the chief prosecutor have been engaged in an increasingly fierce political dispute ever since Petro took office in August last year.