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Radicado: 11001-03-28-000-2019-00090-00 (Acum.) Actor: GONZALO RAMOS ROJAS y otros y las expresamente estipuladas por la Ley 617 de 2000, la Sala arriba a las siguientes conclusiones: i) Como ya se anticipó es tesis constante y pacífica de esta Sala Electoral que las causales de inhabilidad de origen estatutario no tienen la entidad suficiente para constituirse en causal de nulidad electoral y la desatención de estas normas internas del partido político tendrán las consecuencias previstas en su regulación, pero no un impacto anulatorio en el acto de elección acusado de ilegal. ii) La inhabilidad que se enrostra al demandado y sirve de fundamento a la pretensión anulatoria, no tiene causal igual de origen legal, como da cuenta la anterior transcripción. El demandado expuso que la causal legal prohibitiva que podría guardar alguna relación con el fundamento de la demanda es la contenida en el numeral 5º del artículo 30 de la Ley 617 de 2000. No obstante, como se advierte en los argumentos de defensa del acusado es clara la diferencia fáctica y normativa según se observa en el siguiente cuadro comparativo: Resolución No. 024 de 2017 del Partido Político Centro Democrático artículo 13 “INHABILIDADES PARA OCUPAR CARGOS DE ELECCIÓN POPULAR EN REPRESENTACIÓN DEL PARTIDO. Las inhabilidades para ocupar cargos de elección popular en representación del partido son: 1. Ser cónyuge o compañero permanente, o encontrarse hasta el cuarto (4) grado de consanguinidad, segundo (2) de afinidad o primero civil, al mismo cargo de elección popular por el partido centro democrático” (Negrilla y subraya fuera de texto original). (…)” (Negrilla y subraya fuera de texto original). Ley 617 de 2000, artículo 30, numeral 5º “5. Quien tenga vínculo por matrimonio, o unión permanente, o de parentesco en segundo grado de consanguinidad, primero de afinidad o único civil, con funcionarios que dentro de los doce (12) meses anteriores a la elección hayan ejercido autoridad civil, política, administrativa o militar en el respectivo departamento; o con quienes dentro del mismo lapso hayan sido representantes legales de entidades que administren tributos, tasas o contribuciones, o de las entidades que presten servicios públicos domiciliarios o de seguridad social de salud en el régimen subsidiado en el respectivo departamento” (Negrilla y subraya fuera de texto original). Al respecto, son múltiples las diferencias existentes entre las causales de inhabilidad -estatutaria y legal-, siendo de las más relevantes la relacionada con el grado de parentesco de afinidad que se exige entre una y otra. En efecto, resulta de mayor rango de aplicación la causal de inhabilidad estatutaria porque alude a un parentesco de afinidad hasta el segundo grado, mientras que la contenida en la Ley 617 de 2000, se limita al primer grado de afinidad. Calle 12 No. 7-65 – Tel: (57-1) 350-6700 – Bogotá D.C. – Colombia www.consejodeestado.gov.co 24

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Ramos Rojas v. Sanabria Chacón

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether a political party’s internal rules on candidacy criteria relating to nepotism may nullify an election of one of its registered candidates if he violated the party rules but otherwise met the eligibility criteria set up in the Constitution or statutes.

Alleged Acts: The plaintiff alleges that the defendant violated intra-party laws after marrying the sister of the outgoing governor of the province where he was running for (and eventually elected) governor. The plaintiff also alleges that the defendant’s party, the Democratic Center Political Party, passed Resolution No. 024 of 2017—which contained rules against conflicts of interest—but, upon a request by Gonzalo Ramos Rojas and others to revoke the defendant’s candidacy in line with this resolution, the party improperly passed another resolution denying the request.

Procedural history: The plaintiff requested that the National Electoral Council (CNE) revoke the defendant’s registration, but the CNE denied the request. After the announcement of the election, the plaintiff filed a complaint with the Council of State to cancel the defendant’s election due to his breach of the anti-nepotism laws and the party rules on conflict of interest.

Summary: The defendant, Salomón Andrés Sanabria Chacón, won election as governor of Casanare. At the time, he was married to Cielo Barrera Rodríguez, who is the sister of Josué Alirio Barrera Rodríguez. Barrera Rodríguez was Governor of Casanare during the previous three-year term. Plaintiff argued that Resolution No. 024 of 2017 of the Statutes of the Democratic Center Political Party, to which the defendant belongs, prohibit the participation in the election of individuals who are a spouse or permanent partner or a person up to the “fourth degree of consanguinity, second degree of affinity or first civil” with a person who is occupying the elected office they are seeking. Plaintiff also cited Article 126 of the Constitution, which aims to avoid nepotism and promote equality of candidates in an election (“Los servidores públicos no podrán en ejercicio de sus funciones, nombrar, postular, ni contratar con personas con las cuales tengan parentesco hasta el cuarto grado de consanguinidad, segundo de afinidad, primero civil, o con quien estén ligados por matrimonio o unión permanente.”) (“Public servants may not, in the exercise of their functions, appoint, apply, or contract with persons with whom they are related up to the fourth degree of consanguinity, second degree of affinity, first civil, or with whom they are linked by marriage or permanent union.”) and Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights to suggest that the election of the defendant would violate the political rights of citizens to participate in “authentic” elections and freely express the “will of the electors.” Defendant argued that the resolution passed by his party is not valid because it “‘enshrin[es] provisions contrary to the Constitution and the laws of the Republic.’” Defendant added that the resolution cannot be considered by a judge because the resolution “does not have the character of an administrative act.” Therefore, the law that should be used to determine the validity of the defendant’s election is Article 30 of Law 617 of 2000, which prohibits only those candidates who have familial bonds by affinity to the second degree from running for governor. The Ministerio Público also requested that the Council of State deny the plaintiff’s claims, citing the same law as the basis for candidate disqualifications. In addition, it added that Article 29(3) of Law 1475 of 2011 stipulates that “no regime of disabilities and incompatibilities for popularly elected public servants shall be superior to that established for congressmen in the Constitution.” The Council of State found that the defendant did not violate the law, and although the defendant may have contravened the party resolution, the party resolution does not have legal or constitutional force. Therefore, the plaintiff does not have cause to nullify the defendant’s election as Governor of Casanare. While the resolution passed by the defendant’s party prohibits familial bonds by affinity up to the fourth degree, Colombian law only prohibits familial bonds by affinity up to the first degree. Since the defendant Sanabria Chacón was married to the sister of former Governor Josué Alirio Barrera Rodríguez, there was only second degree of affinity between the defendant and the former governor.

Conclusion: The Council of State denied the plaintiff’s claims, and the election of defendant Sanabria Chacón remained intact.

Legal Issue(s)

Candidate Registration

Applicable Law(s): Article 126 of the Constitution; Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights; Article 30, Paragraph 5 of Law 617 of 2000; Article 13 of Resolution No. 024 of 2017 of the Democratic Center Political Party; Article 47 of the Civil Code

Region: Americas

Country: Colombia

Language of Decision

Spanish

Court: Constitutional Court

Election Type: General

Date of decision: Dec 3, 2020

Geolocation

Latitude: 4.623650859989211

Longitude: -74.09697385354207

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

Ramos Rojas.pdf
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Ramos Rojas v. Sanabria Chacón

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