Colombia’s left-wing presidential candidate, Iván Cepeda, recognized, this Wednesday (24), the defeat for the extreme direita candidate Abelardo de la Espriellathree days after the fiercest second round in the country’s history.
o senator lost by less than a percentage point. However, he stated that he would only accept the result after the final count, which is almost complete.
After the elections, protests and clashes broke out between Cepeda supporters and riot police in cities including Bogotá and Cali.
“I have decided to accept the result of this process, which indicates that Abelardo de la Espriella is the new president of the Republic”, declared the senator at a press conference this Wednesday. “I do this to contribute to coexistence, peace and dialogue among Colombians,” he added.
President Gustavo Petro, an ally of Cepeda, denounced alleged violations of the electoral authority’s software e raised the possibility of the vote being annulled due to “direct intervention” by the United States, after Donald Trump expressed support for De la Espriella.
However, the entity responsible for the elections stated on Tuesday that the count showed a 99.9% coincidence with Sunday’s pre-count.
Furthermore, the European Union mission that sent 150 election observers in the second round ruled out “irregularities”.
‘Civil disobedience’
De la Espriella, a millionaire lawyer who had never been elected to public office, promises hard line against crime and has a radical speech against the left.
“We will assume, if necessary, resistance and peaceful civil disobedience,” said Cepeda, who vowed to reject “any attempt at authoritarian subjugation.”
“Accepting the results of the elections does not mean renouncing the truth or remaining silent in the face of events that we consider serious,” said Cepeda, pointing to “open and undue foreign interference” in the elections.
Cepeda had called for “calm” on Monday (22), after protests in which his supporters burned American flags and tires.
From August 7th, De la Espriella will govern a deeply divided countrywith an opposition prepared to protest in the streets.
As promised, the inauguration will take place in a military garrisonin line with his speeches in law enforcement defensein a country plunged for more than six decades into a internal armed conflict against guerrillas.
Without a majority in Congress, it is uncertain whether he will be able to fulfill his promises, such as the dismantling of the court of peace created after the government’s agreement with the FARC guerrillas in 2016.
The left-wing bloc is the largest in the Legislature, although the elected president can form alliances with traditional parties to approve his reforms.
The party of influential right-wing former president Álvaro Uribe declared its support for De la Espriella, who became president with an anti-system speech.
After the second round of elections, the far-right candidate met with American congressmen close to Trump to discuss security and immigration issues.
