Colombia votes in polarized runoff as Trump-backed hardliner De la Espriella holds narrow lead over leftist Cepeda
Colombians went to the polls Sunday in a deeply polarized presidential runoff, with security fears and fraud allegations marring the contest between Trump-backed hardliner Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda to succeed Gustavo Petro.
A deeply polarized runoff
After a violent campaign marked by guerrilla bomb attacks, hundreds of threats, and the murder of a leading conservative hopeful, nearly 41 million Colombians voted Sunday in the second round of the presidential election. The first-round vote on May 31 saw Abelardo de la Espriella (43.74%) and Iván Cepeda (40.9%) advance, with De la Espriella holding a narrow advantage of roughly 600,000 votes. Polls indicated a tight contest, though most trackers gave the edge to the far-right candidate.
- First-round election: De la Espriella wins 43.74%, Cepeda wins 40.9%
- Border Commandos faction disarms 100 fighters (10% of group), the first and only group to do so under Petro's Total Peace plan
- Polls open for the runoff election across Colombia
- Polls close and preliminary vote count begins
- Inauguration day for the next president
Trump-backed hardliner pledges military force
De la Espriella, a 47-year-old criminal defense attorney and dual U.S.-Colombian national, campaigned on a promise to launch a 90-day campaign of U.S.-backed airstrikes against guerrilla groups the day after taking office. He has vowed to bomb narco-trafficker camps, shoot down smuggling aircraft, and sink boats transporting cocaine. His platform also includes advocating the right to carry arms, constructing mega-prisons, expanding fracking, and eventually dollarizing the economy.
I will give the order to bomb all of the camps holding narco-terrorists.
Leftist senator stakes campaign on peace
Iván Cepeda, a 63-year-old former philosophy professor turned senator, has pledged to continue peace negotiations, arguing that even stalled talks are an indispensable effort. His "Total Peace" approach, inherited from outgoing President Petro, has struggled to disarm most armed groups, with only 100 fighters of the Border Commandos (10 percent of the group) laying down weapons in a June 18 ceremony. Cepeda also emphasized an anti-corruption system and outreach to abstentionist voters via new media platforms, though analysts note he lacks Petro's charisma with that segment.
Even in the worst of times, Colombia has chosen life, democracy, hope and peace as the path forward.
Election day tensions and fraud claims
Voting began at 8 a.m. and closed at 4 p.m. local time, with authorities reporting a largely calm process. However, Interior Minister Armando Benedetti flagged reports of voter coercion in the Atlántico department, including people photographing ballots. De la Espriella, who voted in Barranquilla wearing a Colombia football jersey, accused the left of using state money to buy votes. Petro, after casting his ballot, denied authoritarian intentions and said he would leave office on August 7 “without a second more.”
I will not stay a second longer in office.
What comes next
The new president will be sworn in on August 7, inheriting a country where cocaine exports are at an all-time high and where peace talks with the ELN and dissident FARC factions remain in limbo. The outcome will also signal whether Latin America’s rightward electoral wave continues, after recent victories in Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Honduras.
