The Senate of the Republic released the final list of the 20 candidates for the position of Comptroller General of the Republic, after carrying out the knowledge exam and the evaluation of resumes.
Among the names are:
- Luis Enrique Abadía García
- Andres Castro Franco
- Jorge Eliecer Laverde Vargas
- Ana Elena Monsalvo Herrera
- Carlos Mario Zuluaga Pardo
- Amanda Madrid
- Julián Mauricio Ruiz Rodríguez
- Diana Carolina Torres García
- Carlos Augusto Wilches Vega
- Diego Fernando Uribe Velasquez
- Karol González Mora
- Pedro Alonso Sanabria Buitrago
- Rosalba Jazmín Cabrales Romero
- Carlos Alberto López López
- Teresa Bonilla de la Torre
- Javier Alex Hurtado Malagón
- Elisina Ortega Consuegra
- Santiago Narváez de los Ríos
- Erika Sabogal Castro
- Edgardo Manuel Román Elles.
According to the details that were known at the moment, the next dates of the election process, the official schedule establishes that:
- Monday, May 11, 2026: the accidental commission of the Senate and Chamber will be defined, which will be composed of a member of each political party.
- Tuesday, May 19, 2026: all candidates must participate in a public interview, where they will present their proposals and answer questions from the congressmen.
After the interviews: The Congress will publish the final list of the 10 finalists among the 20 preselected.
These will be the candidates from whom the new Congress will choose the next comptroller general.
The process has not been without controversy. Lawyer Carlos Javier Soler filed a claim of unconstitutionality before the Constitutional Court, requesting the immediate suspension of the contest.
Soler argued that the current system, in which Congress concentrates all the stages of selection, evaluation and election, violates the separation of powers and excludes the high courts (Supreme Court, Constitutional Court and Council of State) from the nomination process, which affects the transparency and legitimacy of the appointment.
According to what the jurist explained, the original 1991 Constitution gave the courts the role of proposing candidates, and Congress only had to choose between them.
In the same line of Soler’s argument, the 2015 reform modified this scheme, leaving the entire process in the hands of the legislature, which in the plaintiff’s opinion constitutes a substitution of the constitutional architecture and a risk for the control of public resources.
For this reason, the lawyer asked the Court for a precautionary measure to suspend the election until there is a substantive decision on the constitutionality of the process, proposing that the current comptroller remain in office until the lawsuit is resolved.
For now, the process continues, with twenty candidates in the race and Congress about to define the final list of ten candidates.
Among the most notable applicants are Carlos Mario Zuluaga, Luis Enrique Abadía, Diana Carolina Torres García, Rosalba Cabrales, Elisina Ortega and Ana Monsalvo.
