Vote Buying, Voter Fraud, and State Hiring: Registrar Alexander Vega's Family History

Faced with the alleged case of electoral fraud and the counting of votes in the elections of March 13, which is yet to be defined, the national registrar Alexander Vega has been one of the protagonists in this last election, since his role directly covers the entire management of guarantees of the past legislative elections. Many have asked for the resignation of this official, who is not officially speaking to the media today, nor does he give interviews despite being part of the public body.

The website Quesción Pública thoroughly investigated the actions of Vega and his family, starting with Campo Elías Vega Goyeneche, father of the registrar and a character with a long political history in the Colombian Orinoquia. At the time he was part of the campaign of Wilson Ladino Vigoya, a candidate for the governorate of Vaupés in 2004, said elections became an atypical day, in which Vega Goyeneche was appointed to buy votes in favor of Ladino Vigora.

At that time, the registrar's father chose to aspire to the governorship of that department, however, he declined his candidacy in order to carry out other tasks not directly related to the sector, since he was responsible for managing the financial aspect of the campaign already mentioned, apart from dealing with the political issue of it. At that time, promissory notes appeared under the name of Vega Goyeneche, the money offered was in exchange for votes, the proposal was simple, since the campaign that supported this character, money was offered to different voters who supported the opponent, the value of these receipts ranged from 100,000 pesos onwards.

Originally, Vega Rocha's father was charged with being an accomplice to the crime of corruption of the suffragant, which was why he had to pay 54 (SMLV) and 22 months in prison, which, despite being acquitted in the first instance, that decision was overturned by the San Gil High Court.

Every decision imposed by the justice organs was demanded by Vega Goyeneche, who, from his political aspect, was repeatedly listed as a candidate for the governorship of the department of Vaupés with different political coalitions. According to the Public Question, in the judicial branch there are 28 processes linked to the registrar's father, however, in almost all of them he weighs like the plaintiff; knocking down seats and opposing his judicial processes.

Similarly, in February 2001, an indictment was made against Campo Elías Vega Goyeneche and two other subjects, in which they were told of the crime of aggravated fraud, however, that investigation had no major consequences. In 2009, he decided to run into the Senate by the Independent Social Alliance (ASI), after having obtained the go-ahead to participate in an election day again, however, despite his efforts he failed to reach the threshold, as he only obtained 833 votes.

The registrar's father is not the only one who appears in the political history, since the name of Heraclio Vega Goyeneche, governor in 1993 by the department of Vaupés and uncle of Vega Rocha also arises, in this case he was convicted by the Supreme Court of Justice for the crime of embezzlement by different official application, for mishandling of money public. In turn, the registrar's father is listed as a senior partner in a legal group that has contracted with the state and which, at the time, directly linked the National Registrar.

In addition, Campo Elías Vega Rocha, brother of the registrar, is Deputy Technical Director of the National Land Agency and has passed through different territorial and municipal entities. Alexander Vega surprisingly moved from the National Electoral Council to occupy one of the most important positions in the country, the longed-for position as national registrar which, to this day, has it in the eye of the Hurricane.

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