The radical right candidate was chosen by Colombians with a margin of less than 250 thousand votes. The left, however, alleges that there were errors during the process, namely in 33 thousand electoral tables
Colombia went to vote last Sunday in the second round of the presidential elections, and Abelardo de la Espriella, from the radical right, against Iván Cepeda, from the left and an ally of the current head of state Gustavo Petro. The result was based on the “preconteo”, a preliminary calculation before the official announcement of the winner.
According to this initial count, the distance between the candidates was less than 250 thousand votes. Now, the country awaits “scrutiny”, a stage in which, according to the Brazilian news portal g1, national authorities such as judges analyze the minutes and correct any errors and inconsistencies. In the first round, this process took around two days to complete.
Abelardo de la Espriella is a businessman and does not have a great history in politics. The candidate ran based on common proposals among far-right names in Latin America. Among his main slogans during the campaign is the rigorous fight against organized crime and the cut in taxes and government support. Furthermore, ‘El Tigre’, as he is known, is a naturalized citizen of the United States and Italy, and is a member of the Republican Party.
After the preliminary count, big names on the far right, such as Javier Milei, Flávio Bolsonaro and Donald Trump celebrated the result and sent a message of support to the winner. “Great victory”, wrote the American president, while his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, assured that “the Trump Administration looks forward to working closely with your administration”.
Anti-incumbent wave claims another victim, who does not accept the results
After the first round, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, did not accept the results of the preliminary count. At the time, Iván Cepeda had been the second most voted, with 40.9%, behind only Espriella, who had 43.7% of the votes. “As president, I do not accept the pre-count results from the Bautista brothers’ private firm […] There are two censuses at the moment, the official one and the Bautista brothers’ software one, which has 800 thousand additional people”, stated the head of state.
Now, after the new democratic process, it was Cepeda’s turn to question the count. According to the candidate, his party identified errors in 33,000 electoral tables, each of which could have up to 300 votes, reported g1. “Our lawyers are proceeding to challenge 33 thousand tables across the country,” said the government ally.
Cases of candidates rejecting poll results became more frequent after the 2020 elections in the United States. At the time, Donald Trump claimed, without evidence, that the process had been fraudulent. Two years later, it was Jair Bolsonaro’s turn, in Brazil, to use this strategy to foment anti-democratic popular demonstrations. The Brazilian’s tactics were considered criminal in the trial that sentenced him to more than 27 years in prison for attempting a coup d’état.
Cepeda’s defeat is yet another case of the anti-incumbent wave that exists in international politics. For years, candidates running for reelection or supported by the government have found it difficult to secure popular support at the polls. At the same time, there is a growing trend of right-wing and far-right politicians in the Americas and Europe.
In 2020, for example, Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden, but, four years later, he beat the then Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro beat Fernando Haddad, government candidate, in 2018, but was defeated by Lula da Silva in 2022. Even in Europe this situation is nothing new. In 2024, for example, Keir Starmer’s Labor Party – who has just announced that he will step down as British Prime Minister – put an end to 14 years of Conservative victories.
In the case of Colombia, Iván Cepeda was the candidate supported by the current government of Gustavo Petro, who was unable to run again because there is no possibility of re-election in the country. The current administration achieved some relevant victories, such as the approval of a labor reform, but it also suffered from constant criticism in areas where it had less successful performance, such as public security.
With Espriella’s victory, the right secured a majority among South American countries: there are seven governments against five on the left (Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname – in Peru, where the current government is on the left, Keiko Fujimori, on the right, is leading the presidential race). Later this year, in October, there will be a new election that could influence the future of this trend on the continent. Brazil is going to vote, and the main candidates are Flávio Bolsonaro, son of Jair Bolsonaro, and Lula da Silva. According to polls of voting intentions, the leader of the Workers’ Party is in first place.
