Far-right millionaire Abelardo de la Espriella has won Colombia's presidential runoff, defeating leftwing senator Iván Cepeda. With 99.99% of ballots counted in the preliminary tally, De la Espriella secured 12.96 million votes (49.66%), just 250,830 more than Cepeda, who received 12.7 million votes (48.7%). An additional 1.6% of ballots were cast blank.
Narrower Margin Than First Round
The margin was narrower than in the first round three weeks ago, when De la Espriella had beaten Cepeda by 673,000 votes. De la Espriella's victory marks a sharp swing back to the right after four years under Colombia's first leftwing president, Gustavo Petro, who was barred from seeking re-election and backed Cepeda as his successor.
The result is seen as further evidence of a wave of far-right candidates sweeping presidential elections across Latin America, following recent victories by Nasry Asfura in Honduras and José Antonio Kast in Chile, while Keiko Fujimori currently leads the vote count in Peru.
Trump Endorsement and Victory Speech
De la Espriella also received the endorsement of US President Donald Trump after winning the first round. Trump shared news of the Colombian's victory on social media, writing: "He Won, BIG!" In his victory speech in Barranquilla, De la Espriella promised to respect the constitution and be president of "all Colombians." He said: "I want to speak especially to those who did not vote for me… Your rights, even if you did not vote for me, will be respected. Your opinions will be heard. You will never have to fear thinking differently."
Alliance with the US
In a video posted by US Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, De la Espriella said: "To solve Colombia's problems, we need to build a very close alliance with the US, which is not only our main trading partner but also our most important strategic ally in the fight against organised crime." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted that he had spoken with De la Espriella to congratulate him: "The Trump administration looks forward to working closely with your incoming administration to advance regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States and strengthen our economic ties. Colombia's best days are ahead."
Allegations of Irregularities
President Gustavo Petro alleged irregularities in the preliminary vote count released by the National Civil Registry, writing on social media that he would only recognise the outcome of the official scrutiny process, expected to take about two more days. "No president can be declared yet. It is the scrutiny process that determines who the president is," he said. In the first round, Petro also alleged fraud without presenting evidence; the difference between the preliminary count and official tally was less than 0.1%.
Following Petro's lead, Cepeda declined to recognise the preliminary results and said a team of lawyers from his party was "proceeding to challenge 33,000 polling stations across the country." He added: "Once the final scrutiny result is produced and the corresponding verifications have been carried out, we will recognise the official result that emerges from that scrutiny process."
Protests and Calls for Calm
There were protests by Cepeda supporters: in Cali, demonstrators burned US flags and clashed with police. In Bogotá, hundreds gathered outside Corferias, the country's largest polling station. In his victory speech, De la Espriella called on Petro and Cepeda to respect the result: "Refrain from unleashing social unrest."
Iron Fist Approach to Crime
In a campaign dominated by violence, De la Espriella prevailed on a promise to adopt an iron fist approach against criminal groups. Although security indicators remain far below levels recorded before the 2016 peace agreement, the past year has been the most violent since then. The president-elect, who will take office on 7 August, has pledged to build 10 maximum-security "mega-prisons" and kill criminals "like rats and cockroaches."
Calling himself "El Tigre" and having never held public office, De la Espriella has vowed to make a complete break with Petro's "total peace" plan. After four years, the government managed to disarm only one criminal group, with just 99 members, while experts estimate more than 27,000 people belong to Colombia's criminal organisations. De la Espriella has promised a return to full-scale military confrontation and said he will seek US support for airstrikes against coca plantations.
Background of the President-Elect
Born in Bogotá but raised on Colombia's Caribbean coast, De la Espriella rose to prominence as a criminal lawyer representing paramilitary leaders. Later branching into liquor, real estate, and menswear, he announced his presidential bid in July last year, a month after rightwing senator Miguel Uribe Turbay was shot during a campaign event and later died.
Though long associated with Colombia's rightwing political establishment, De la Espriella presented himself as an "anti-establishment" candidate. His vice-president will be economist José Manuel Restrepo, who served as finance minister under conservative Iván Duque. The president-elect said Restrepo would implement a plan to shrink the state by 40%.
They will take office with a minority in congress and a deeply divided country after the most polarised election in years, in which the two candidates failed to agree on a single debate and traded insults.
