The lawyer (Defensores de la Patria, right) was president of Colombia with just over 250 thousand votes ahead of his main opponent, the philosopher (Pacto Histórico, left), on Sunday night (June 21, 2026). To achieve victory, he counted on the votes of an important portion of the electorate: those who decided to leave the country bathed in the north by the Caribbean Sea.
Among those residing abroad, Espriella received 63.8% of preference and opened an advantage of 177,809 votes over Cepeda. According to the AFPthe good performance in this part of the electorate was essential to defeat the candidate supported by the current president, (Colombia Humana, left). The result represented 2/3 of the total vote difference.
The official preliminary count points to Espriella’s victory with 49.6% of the votes, against 48.7% for Cepeda. The lawyer is 47 years old, is a supporter of the (Republican Party) and has dual citizenship (Colombian and American). He won the election at a time when Colombia is recording the biggest wave of violence in the last decade.
In his first speech in the city of Barranquilla, he stated that the country will experience the beginning of a “change of order” and the end of time for those who “sowed violence, terror, drug trafficking and corruption”.He will govern the country until 2030.
Election night was marked by demonstrations in Bogotá and Cali. Groups occupied the streets shouting “resistance!” and clashed with riot police. Protesters burned United States flags and expressed fear about the loss of social rights and programs aimed at vulnerable populations, expanded under the previous administration.
Ivan Cepeda declared that he will not accept defeat before the final count. The left-wing candidate intends to contest 33,000 ballot boxes in an attempt to reverse the result.
Presidency candidate Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) supported Espriella’s victory.
