Admitted Penagos tutelage against Petro for fraud charges

Former President Gustavo Petro responded to a legal action initiated against him by Registrar Hernán Penagos over allegations of election fraud in the recent presidential elections. Through his X account, Petro stated that the accusations have been handed over to the justice system and emphasized that his right to vote was violated due to the lack of transparency from the National Registry Office. He raised several questions and new concerns for Penagos, asking why the hash code was not available for 97% of the PDF forms labeled E14 uploaded to the internet by the private auditing firm Thomas Greg and Sons, despite having requested this information publicly as head of state and also requested by electoral observers. Petro argued that the hash code is an international standard required to make all public or private PDF documents immutable, which is also mandated by Colombian electoral law. He claimed that during his presidency, there was a guarantee of immutability through the hash code, but under Penagos's management, this feature has been removed from all elections. He questioned whether future regional elections scheduled for 2027 would proceed without the hash code on the forms. Additionally, Petro pointed out patterns in many voting booths that were ordered sequentially, suggesting that free and fair elections should include randomness. He mentioned a forensic examination using a streak analysis model and accused Penagos of lying to the Colombian people when he claimed that the hash code had been applied to the E14 PDF forms. Petro indicated that what was done, according to him, was merely assigning an alphanumeric code to the E14 forms without making them truly immutable, thus violating the law. He criticized Penagos for not commenting on a statement made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed that Abelardo De La Espriella won the election thanks to him. Petro asked if such a statement by a head of state does not constitute evidence against Penagos and his role. The legal action brought by Penagos against Petro has been accepted by the Council of State. Penagos argues that his rights and those of the National Registry Office to honor, reputation, and equitable rectification were violated by Petro’s allegations of election fraud. The case is currently pending with no final decision yet. The Council of State noted that Petro published 14 messages on his X account and issued a ministerial council on July 14, in which he directly accused both Penagos and the National Registry Office of committing election fraud in the 2026 elections. Petro reiterated his claims regarding the alleged removal of the hash lock on E-14 forms and the "streak test" conducted by the group of digital witnesses. He also criticized Penagos for remaining silent after Trump claimed that De La Espriella won the election because of him. Petro expressed his expectation for Penagos to provide answers either publicly or within the legal process if desired. The allegations of election fraud are being handled by the justice system, but Petro emphasized his fundamental right to vote and be voted for, stating that his right to vote was violated due to the lack of transparency from the registry office.