A commission of the Congress of Colombia decided to suspend the communist president Gustavo Petro temporarily until June 21, the scheduled date for the presidential runoff.
The decision aims to prevent any type of participation and political interference from the far-left leader during the final stretch of the electoral process.
The measure was ordered by the president of the Accusation Commission of the House of Representatives, Gloria Arizabaleta, as part of an investigation analyzing the alleged intervention of the head of state in the ongoing electoral campaign.
In justifying the resolution, Arizabaleta stated that she is authorized to apply such preventive measures "as long as serious elements of judgment are evident that allow establishing that the permanence in the position, function, or public service enables the interference of the author of the fault in the investigation process".
The current presidential term is valid until August 7, when the winner of the runoff will take office. In that instance, the right-wing Abelardo de la Estrella and the far-left extremist Iván Cepeda, Petro's successor, will compete.
