Incumbent President Gustavo Petro dismissed the premature declaration as “merely wishful thinking”
Pro-Trump lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella has claimed victory in Colombia’s presidential runoff after preliminary results showed him winning by a narrow margin, as the country’s left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, and the ruling party’s candidate, Ivan Cepeda, both vowed to scrutinize every vote.
With 99.9% of the ballots counted, de la Espriella was leading left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda by fewer than 250,000 votes, or roughly one percentage point – a much narrower margin than in the first round in May.
“Here we are, the vice president and the president-elect of the Republic are going to ensure that the popular will is respected,” de la Espriella proclaimed in an interview on Sunday night.
The incumbent, however, said the margin was too narrow, and concerns about the vote’s legitimacy and potential outside interference too serious, to ignore.
“Only the judges determine who is the president of Colombia. Any declaration today of victory in the elections is merely wishful thinking,” Petro said.
Cepeda similarly stated that the preliminary count “is neither official nor binding” until observers scrutinize the results from 33,000 polling stations across the country.
Both candidates ran campaigns aimed at courting undecided voters and boosting turnout, which rose from 57% to more than 63%.
Cepeda, 63, a close ally of Petro, had promised to continue peace talks with armed guerrilla groups that have fought the Colombian state for more than half a century. He had also pledged to expand social welfare programs and introduce anti-corruption measures.
De la Espriella, 47, a political newcomer who calls himself “The Tiger,” campaigned on a hardline law-and-order platform. He vowed to end negotiations with armed groups and launch a broad military offensive against guerrillas, drug traffickers, and organized crime.
He had also promised a sweeping crackdown on crime and an overhaul of the penal system, including mega-prisons and longer sentences – proposals that have drawn comparisons to El Salvador’s controversial President Nayib Bukele and his mass-incarceration security model.
US President Donald Trump enthusiastically endorsed de la Espriella during the campaign, urging Colombians again on Wednesday to vote for the “Smart, Strong, and Tough Leader.”
De la Espriella has been critical of Petro, under whom relations between Colombia and the US – its biggest trade partner – have significantly deteriorated.
Petro, who is constitutionally barred from running again, has criticized Trump’s mass deportation policies, extrajudicial strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats, and revival of the Monroe Doctrine, leading to online feuds between the two leaders.
The outgoing Colombian president also sharply criticized Trump’s commando raid on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its leader, Nicolas Maduro, in January, a move that de la Espriella had openly welcomed.
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