Key facts
- Abelardo De La Espriella has won the Colombian presidential election.
- The final vote count confirmed De La Espriella's victory with a 99.997% match to preliminary results.
- Progressive candidate Iván Cepeda conceded the election.
- De La Espriella defeated Cepeda by 250,830 votes.
- U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed De La Espriella's candidacy.
Right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella has won Colombia's presidential election, defeating progressive candidate Iván Cepeda by a margin of less than 1% in the initial count. The final vote tally, released by electoral authorities, showed a negligible difference of 0.003% from the preliminary count, confirming De La Espriella's victory with 12,959,542 votes to Cepeda's 12,708,712.
Cepeda conceded the election, acknowledging his defeat and vowing to lead a constructive opposition. De La Espriella, a businessman and lawyer endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump, campaigned on a law-and-order platform, promising stricter measures against crime, including opening mega prisons, cutting corporate taxes, and increasing law enforcement spending. His win is seen as part of a broader right-wing political shift in Latin America.
Outgoing President Gustavo Petro's term concludes on August 7, when De La Espriella is set to be inaugurated as Colombia's 48th president. The election results were closely watched as an indicator of the region's political direction.