Portafolio.co: Registraduría receives 500,000 signatures for recall process against Bogotá mayor Carlos Fernando Galán

Bogotá’s attempt to initiate a recall referendum against Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán has failed after the organizing committee missed the legal deadline to submit required signatures, according to official reports from Colombia’s electoral authorities.

The National Electoral Council confirmed that the committee tasked with promoting the recall process failed to present the necessary documentation within the established timeframe, effectively halting the initiative before it could proceed to validation stages.

Despite earlier claims by committee members that nearly 500,000 signatures had been collected in support of the recall, the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil confirmed it never received the formal submission of signatures for verification, as the deadline passed without delivery.

The recall effort, which had gained public attention through multiple media reports, required organizers to gather and submit a minimum percentage of electoral signatures from Bogotá’s voting population to trigger a formal validation process by electoral authorities.

Local political figures had previously announced the submission of signature collections to begin the recall process, but electoral officials stated these claims were not followed by the actual delivery of documents within the legally prescribed period.

With the deadline now passed and no valid submission received, the recall process against Mayor Galán cannot proceed under current electoral regulations, and the matter is considered closed unless a new initiative is formally launched in compliance with all legal requirements.