Colombia's State Council has definitively archived the sixth electoral lawsuit against Huila congresswoman-elect Lourdes Mateus Serrano's seat. The action, filed by lawyer David Fernando Cano Mazuera, sought to annul ten seats from the Historic Pact, but was rejected due to procedural flaws. Mateus hailed the ruling as legal shielding for her bloc.
Colombia's State Council Administrative Disputes Chamber, Fifth Section, outright rejected the electoral nullity lawsuit filed by lawyer David Fernando Cano Mazuera from Cali. He sought to invalidate the elections of two Historic Pact senators and eight House representatives, including Huila's Lourdes Mateus Serrano, over alleged violations of the movement's statutes, such as prior affiliation requirements.
The court dismissed the request without substantive review, finding the initial filing confusing with major flaws, like failing to separate claims per defendant and provide proofs or election minutes. Magistrate Luis Alberto Álvarez Parra stressed that subjective causal claims must be processed separately for each elected official. The decision was notified last Thursday.
Lourdes Mateus, who secured 82,645 votes on Huila's closed list, had faced five prior lawsuits that failed. "This means our bloc has a legal shield that enemies of change could not break," stated the former Neiva councilor. The ruling preserves the ten seats for the 2026-2030 term.
The plaintiff claimed a "generalized practice" of irregularities in Historic Pact lists but did not correct the procedural requirements, leading to the definitive archiving of the case.
