The president of the Association of Prosecutors assured that it is absurd to modify the Organic Law to elect a new national prosecutor, after Rodrigo Ríos lowered his candidacy from the quinine, leaving a total of four applicants.
The topic of the candidates to elect the next National Prosecutor has been on the fore, since by the Organic Law on the Public Ministry there should be five candidates, but the ex-persecutor, Rodrigo Ríos, lowered his candidacy.
The other four candidates who are presenting themselves are the North Central Prosecutor, José Morales; the director of the Specialized Anticorruption Unit of the Public Ministry, Marta Herrera; the regional prosecutor of Aysén, Carlos Palma, and the former prosecutor, Ángel Valencia.
The legislation indicates that the President of the Republic is the one who chooses one of the five candidates presented by the Supreme Court, the truth is that there is no established procedure to follow in the event that one of these lowers his candidacy, which is why Radio Bío Bío sources assure that there would be a legal vacuum.
Based on this, the debate began on whether to continue with the four candidates, or transfer to the highest court an election of a fifth candidate for prosecutor, and in this way complete the fifth.
In order to do this, the Constitutional Organic Law of the Public Prosecutor’s Office should be modified, to decree the step by step in cases like this, where the candidates are lowered to days that the President of the Republic chooses his letter.
On the other hand, the former prosecutor, Carlos Gajardo, stressed that when a candidate resigns, what corresponds is that the position be completed by the Supreme Court.
“If indeed one of the applicants resigns, has a disability or something happens to him that therefore prevents the President of the Republic from choosing between five applicants, what corresponds is that this position be relieved by the Supreme Court, in order to complete the quina”, Gajardo emphasized.
The president of the Association of Prosecutors, Francisco Bravo, emphasized in that a modification of the Organic Law is complex and impracticable, since every time someone drops from the candidacies, they would have to return the five to the Supreme Court until completing the fifth name.
“We would be facing a very complex situation, for every time someone gets off, they would have to return to the quinine or the payroll to the Supreme Court until completing the fifth name. It seems to me that this is impractical, unfeasible, completely unfeasible, it seems absurd to me”, said the president of the Association of Prosecutors.
The former prosecutor was Jorge Abbott and in order to choose his successor, the different candidates must make their presentations before the plenary session of the Supreme Court, which is the same Court that will prepare the quinine.
Then it will be President Gabriel Boric who chooses his letter, after which it is the Senate that must ratify it.