Colombia's CNE suspends investigation against President Petro over campaign funds

Published at: 06/05/2025 02:08 PM

This Tuesday, Colombia's National Electoral Council (CNE) provisionally suspended the administrative investigation against President Gustavo Petro for an alleged violation of the funding caps of his 2022 campaign, following an order from the Constitutional Court while a guardianship appeal filed by the president is being resolved.

“Temporarily suspend the administrative investigation, as well as the expiry of the sanctioning power, against citizen Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego and until this Electoral Authority is notified of the decision taken during the review of guardianship,” details the Colombian CNE in a quote from Sputnik.

The decision is based on Order 554 of 2025 issued by the Constitutional Court, which suspended the effects of the ruling of the Council of State of August 6, 2024 regarding the Colombian president.

According to the high court, while the conflict of competencies between the CNE and the Investigative and Accusations Commission of the House of Representatives is resolved, the electoral authority will not be able to move forward in the process.

“The procedure is suspended in its entirety until the Court notifies the final review decision. This is due to a decision of the Plenary Chamber that had a closed vote of 5 to 4", the CNE explained in a document.

The CNE investigation was caused by possible irregularities in the funding of Petro's presidential campaign, including alleged omissions regarding significant contributions such as 500 million pesos (128 thousand dollars) from the Fecode teachers union, 379 million (97 thousand dollars) from the Workers' Union (USO) and a loan from the Alternative Democratic Pole.

Mazo News Team