Colombian electoral authority asks for investigation into Petro campaign funding

In a press release, the National Electoral Council of Colombia (CNE), said that it had requested an investigation of the election campaign for 2022 of President Gustavo Petro due to alleged violations of funding limits.

The majority of nine magistrates approved an investigation of Petro and Ricardo Roa who is the current chief executive officer of Colombia's largest state-owned energy firm, Ecopetrol.

The decision to conduct an investigation comes after Petro, Colombia’s first leftist President, warned about a alleged plot against him, or to remove him from office through the courts.

Petro, a social media user on platform X, said that "the coup has started" after CNE released its statement.

Petro's case will be heard in the lower house of Congress by the accusation panel, where all presidents are tried under the Constitution.

Petro's Coalition has a majority in that committee, and he has denied all wrongdoing.

The Attorney General's Office will investigate Roa's situation.

Investigations found that Petro's spending exceeded the legal funding limit by a combined total of 5.3 million pesos.

The CNE's investigation also names three other campaign officials as well as Petro Humane Colombia and the Patriotic Union Party.

CNE reported that Petro's campaign received illegal financing from three unions including the main oil worker's and teachers' organisations.

The CNE also reported that another 1.6 billion pesos (about $381,000) of the overspend occurred during the second round.

Petro and his attorneys have claimed that the CNE has violated his presidential privilege. This charge was denied by the electoral authority which said they were not challenging the presidential privilege. $1 = 4,217 Colombian Pesos (Reporting and writing by Luis Jaime Acosta, Bogota) Editing by Matthew Lewis

(source: Reuters)