A former congressman who lost his seat in the last election is seeking the impeachment of the entire congress.
Former congressman Jorge Gechem (U Party) filed a lawsuit in September to appeal the election, in which he lost his seat, claiming that the process was mishandled and rigged. The high court initially rejected his argument but on Friday finally approved the case for appeal which could lead to the entire election declared invalid.
Gechem has filed the suit against the validity of the congressional electoral system for the constitutional period 2014-2018. The claims are being made on the grounds that there were serious irregularities in the voting and handling of past elections which affected his re-election.
Observers told Colombia Reports the March 2014 elections were among the most corrupt in modern history.
Gechem has argued against two key aspects of the election which he deems to be unfair. In the first instance, the congress changed the way the National Electoral council entered the voting results into the software system which led to irregularities. Gechem claims that this was done without authority and could therefore invalidate the results.
In addition, Gechem has appealed on the grounds that some of the votes made in Venezuela took up to 17 days to be counted.
The appeal seeks to require a re-election and the appointment of Gechem as Congressman.
In the election which has come under fire, Gechem received a total of 45,700 votes, which was five places below the last senator who won a seat.
The elections were previously challenged by Christian party MIRA which lost both seats in Congress.
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