A closely contested presidential runoff in Colombia has resulted in a narrow victory for hard-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who secured just under half of the vote in preliminary results, according to official electoral data.
With nearly all ballots counted, de la Espriella led with around 49.7%, edging out left-wing senator Ivan Cepeda, who finished with roughly 48.7%. The razor-thin margin left the outcome politically tense, with de la Espriella declaring victory while his opponent withheld concession.
In his victory remarks, de la Espriella emphasized national unity and democratic governance. “Mine will be an absolutely democratic government and a guarantor of freedom and institutional order,” he said, adding that he intends to represent all citizens regardless of political affiliation.
He also declared that he had received direct congratulations from U.S. President Donald Trump, framing the outcome as part of broader international support. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also publicly congratulated him, stating Washington looked forward to working with the incoming administration on security cooperation, migration control, and economic ties.
Cepeda, however, stopped short of accepting defeat. He said the process would only be acknowledged after final verification of results. “Once the count has been completed and its final result is known, and the corresponding checks have been carried out, we will acknowledge the official result,” he said, while his camp prepared to challenge the outcome across thousands of polling stations.
