BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� A polarized Colombia gave conservative political outsider Abelardo de la Espriella a razor-thin lead in a runoff election that will be challenged in the coming days by the ruling party鈥檚 progressive candidate.
De la Espriella, a business owner and lawyer who earned U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 endorsement despite never having run for office, led progressive lawmaker Iv谩n Cepeda taking 49.7% of the votes, with 99.9% of results released by electoral authorities. Cepeda, Petro鈥檚 ally, earned 48.7% support. Election officials have not formally announced a winner.
A victory by de la Espriella is expected to usher in policies that will reverse the agenda of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, including a controversial plan to hold parallel peace negotiations with illegal armed groups. Petro’s prot茅g茅, lawmaker Ivan Cepeda, had pledged to push forward that strategy and other social reforms if he won Sunday’s vote.
The election was colored by people’s fears of a
鈥淚 will govern for all Colombians,” de la Espriella, nicknamed 鈥淭he Tiger,鈥� told thousands of supporters as he stood behind bulletproof glass in the northern city of Barranquilla on Sunday night. But his conciliatory tone changed as he spoke.
鈥淧ack your bags and prepare to exercise the opposition,鈥� he added. 鈥淢ake no mistake, Mr. Cepeda. You already know how fiercely the tiger roars.鈥�
Speaking from Bogota after the vote count was tallied, Cepeda told supporters that his campaign considers the count 鈥渦nofficial and non-binding鈥� and that his team will challenge results from more than 30,000 voting stations. No recount has flipped the results of a presidential election in Colombian history.
鈥淲e will not allow … the rollback of the social gains we have achieved,鈥� Cepeda said. 鈥淲e will not allow democracy to be violated.鈥�
Petro also vowed to challenge the outcome. Sunday鈥檚 winner will begin a four-year term Aug. 7.
The two candidates pitched voters widely different strategies to prevent the South American country from experiencing the nonstop violence, such as car bombs, kidnappings, disappearances and forced displacements, that Colombians lived with in previous decades.
De la Espriella, 47, promised to crime-fighting, including drug trafficking. He also said he plans to end Petro鈥檚 attempts to establish dialogues with multiple armed groups 鈥� an effort that has largely failed 鈥� and build mega-prisons, emulating Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s aggressive policies. Those tactics have lowered homicide rates in the Central American country but have fueled accusations of human rights abuses.
De la Espriella holds dual Colombian and U.S. citizenship. He’s a Trump supporter and a member of the Republican Party.
鈥淗e Won, BIG!鈥� Trump said on his social media platform.
鈥業t鈥檚 always the same violence’
Yolanda Hern谩ndez, who recycles trash for a living, voted for Petro in 2022, but cast her ballot for de la Espriella this time. While she acknowledged that Petro was unable to deliver on promises meant to help the poor because of congressional gridlock, she said Colombia cannot afford another four years under his vision for the country.
鈥淲e want change in Colombia because it鈥檚 always the same violence, always the same thing,鈥� Hern谩ndez, 49, said. 鈥�(Petro) said he was going to lower the cost of services, that he was going to lower the price of food, and everything is more expensive.鈥�
Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Sunday’s result shows the country 鈥渉as not shifted overwhelmingly or decisively鈥� against Petro’s project or for de la Espriella’s outsider 鈥渋ron fist showmanship.鈥� Freeman added that the result also underscored Colombia’s regional divisions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 regional not just ideological polarization; or rather, the two overlapping,鈥� he said. 鈥淚ronically, de la Espriella’s iron-fist message performed best in the core of the country, not the periphery, which bears the brunt of Colombia鈥檚 violence.鈥�
Colombia鈥檚 illegal groups have more than 27,000 members.
Last year, authorities recorded 14,780 homicides, the most since at least 2015, driven by clashes among illegal armed groups. Among those killed was .
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