Leftist Iván Cepeda concedes Colombian presidency to Trump-backed outsider Abelardo de la Espriella after razor-thin runoff

Leftwing candidate Iván Cepeda conceded defeat on Wednesday in Colombia's presidential election, clearing the way for far-right lawyer and businessman Abelardo de la Espriella to become the country's next president. The 24 June announcement came after days of tension and street protests that followed the 21 June runoff, which was decided by less than one percentage point.

The result

Preliminary returns on election night already pointed to a De la Espriella win by a margin of under 1%. The final count, which Cepeda and outgoing President Gustavo Petro initially refused to accept pending a full recount, ultimately showed a 99.997% match with those early figures. De la Espriella secured about 12.96 million votes (roughly 49.6–49.8%), while Cepeda received around 12.7 million, a gap of approximately 250,000 ballots.

Cepeda concedes

Speaking from Bogotá, Cepeda framed his concession as a democratic duty.

I have decided to accept the result of the process, which indicates that Abelardo de la Espriella is the new president of the republic. I do so as an act of democratic responsibility. I do so to contribute to coexistence, peace and dialogue among Colombians.

He pledged to lead a “democratic, vigilant and constructive opposition” from the Senate seat he will hold as runner-up. Cepeda had earlier challenged more than 50,000 voting tables in an effort to contest the count.

Fraud claims and foreign interference

Cepeda tempered his concession with sharp criticism. He alleged the De la Espriella campaign carried out “a massive vote-buying operation” and deployed “sophisticated manipulation strategies using artificial intelligence technologies.” No evidence was presented; De la Espriella fired back with identical vote-buying accusations against Cepeda, also without proof.

The senator reserved his strongest words for Donald Trump, who had publicly celebrated De la Espriella's first-round performance and later claimed he won “easily.”

We denounced the open and improper foreign interference in Colombia’s internal affairs. In particular, the interventions carried out by the government of the United States and especially those of President Donald Trump in favour of Abelardo de la Espriella’s candidacy.

Outgoing President Petro, whose progressive project Cepeda had promised to continue, compared the transition to handing Simón Bolívar’s sword “to a viceroy,” a nod to Trump’s backing.

International response and the road ahead

Spain’s government congratulated De la Espriella and expressed a wish to keep strengthening bilateral ties. Leaders such as Argentina’s Javier Milei and Chile’s José Antonio Kast had already endorsed the outcome on Monday. De la Espriella has already moved to join the “Shield of the Americas,” a Trump-led alliance of Western Hemisphere countries focused on combating cartels and drug-trafficking. He will take office on 7 August.