00:00Reckless disregard for the truth, that's how registrar Hernán Penagos describes the accusations
00:05regarding electoral fraud by former president Gustavo Petro. His complaint has already reached the Council of State.
00:10But there's a catch: Penagos believes that ordering the former president to issue a retraction
00:14This could end up making things worse. Why? Penagos maintains that Petro would have used
00:19the power of the presidency to accuse him, without evidence, of facilitating fraud in the
00:242026 presidential elections. According to the registrar, those messages damaged his reputation,
00:30They discredited the registrar's office and eroded confidence in the elections. That's why he filed
00:34a guardianship in his own name and on behalf of the entity. The document reconstructs the
00:39allegations published between June and August, when Petro was still president. One of them
00:44He said that, and I quote, the registrar lent himself not only to fraud, but to attacking our
00:49National sovereignty, I'll end the quote. Penagos claims he responded with documents, audits, and
00:54technical explanations. But the accusations continued. In the guardianship document, he writes,
00:58There doesn't seem to be any verification effort here. What was Petro questioning? Alleged changes in the
01:03electoral census, alterations to voting records, and obstacles to auditing programs
01:07computer specialists. Penagos denies these allegations and presents documentary evidence to support them.
01:12challenge them. It also highlights a key difference. The registrar's office organizes the elections,
01:17But the registrar doesn't count the votes or declare who won. The votes are counted by the juries and the
01:22counting commissions. The presidential election is declared by the National Electoral Council.
01:27Why not demand a retraction as the primary measure? Penagos demanded a retraction in
01:31August and claims she received no response. Now she is requesting that the Council of State declare the
01:36violation of his rights and order Petro to refrain from repeating unsupported accusations
01:41That's enough. The rectification remains a subsidiary request. The reason? According to Penagos,
01:46The former president has turned previous court orders into a new platform to reaffirm
01:51what needed correcting. If the judge orders a correction, he asks that the exact text be established without additions.
01:57The Council of State admitted the injunction on September 30 and ordered that Petro and entities be heard
02:02such as the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ombudsman's Office, and the National Electoral Council. Following the publication of this
02:07Regarding the details of the guardianship, the former president responded in a message from X with repeated
02:13accusations that led him to answer before the high court. Among other things, he wrote,
02:17I quote, the complaint of electoral fraud is in the hands of the justice system, but I am exercising my right to act.
02:22my fundamental right to elect and be elected and, in my case, with regard to the presidential elections,
02:27my right to choose that was violated by the lack of transparency of the registrar's office.
02:32According to Penagos, Petro had the means to verify and an audience of millions of people.
02:36His criticism is that, even so, he insisted on accusations he couldn't prove. The debate remains.
02:42open. What responsibility does a president have when he questions, without evidence, the legitimacy of
02:47of the elections?
