Abelardo de la Espriella is facing a very narrow victory in Colombia’s presidential election.Image: keystone
June 22, 2026, 03:50June 22, 2026, 05:29
The right-wing politician Abelardo de la Espriella, supported by US President Donald Trump, is facing a very narrow victory in the presidential election in Colombia. After 99.9 percent of the votes were counted, the lawyer received around 49.6 percent of the votes in the runoff election, according to preliminary information from the electoral authority, while his left-wing rival Iván Cepeda received 48.7 percent. This means that around 250,000 votes could decide on the future head of state of the second largest country in South America with 53 million inhabitants.
While de la Espriella spoke of his “great responsibility” in the coming term, Cepeda referred to the still outstanding official review of all election protocols because of the close race and declared that he would only recognize the final result after this process had been completed. According to his campaign team, results from around 33,000 ballot boxes are being contested.
Outgoing President Gustavo Petro, who belongs to the same left-wing alliance as Cepeda and was not allowed to run again due to legal term limits, also warned against declaring a winner in view of the close result. However, the preliminary results are considered very reliable in Colombia and usually only differ slightly from the official final result. De la Espriella is likely to replace Petro on August 7th.
Trump supports the “Tiger”
During the election campaign, “El Tigre” (The Tiger) – as de la Espriella publicly calls himself – received support from US President Trump. After publishing the preliminary results on his Truth Social platform, he described his preferred candidate as the big winner of the election. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also congratulated de la Espriella.
The right-wing politician had announced that he would expand the recently cooled relations with Washington and work more closely together in the fight against drug trafficking. Colombia had long been the U.S.’s most important partner in South America, but last year it was labeled by the Trump administration as a country that was failing to meet its international obligations in the fight against illegal drugs. The US imposed sanctions on Petro on the grounds that he was not taking decisive action against drug trafficking. Colombia is considered the world’s largest producer of cocaine.
The security situation shapes the election
The security situation emerged as one of the defining issues of the election in the country, which suffered decades of civil war between left-wing rebels, right-wing paramilitaries and the military. Critics accused Petro – Colombia’s first left-wing president – of failing to achieve any decisive improvement despite negotiations with armed groups such as the ELN guerrilla organization. The election campaign was marred by a wave of violence. There were attacks and clashes between security forces and armed groups in several regions of the country.
De la Espriella placed the security issue at the center of his campaign. He ran for the conservative movement Movimiento Defensores de la Patria (Defenders of the Fatherland) and promised tougher action against guerrillas, drug gangs and other criminals.
His suggestions included the use of sprays against illegal coca cultivation areas and air strikes on armed drug gang camps. He also spoke out in favor of huge prison complexes modeled on El Salvador.
In his first appearance after the election, de la Espriella appeared in front of his supporters wearing a Colombia national soccer team jersey – behind bulletproof glass for security reasons. “For those who sowed violence: your time is over,” he announced.
Cepeda from the left-wing alliance Pacto Histórico, on the other hand, stood for a continuation of Petro’s course. Supporters of the government camp pointed to progress such as more financial support for the socially disadvantaged and reduced poverty during Petro’s term in office.
According to the authorities, the election was largely orderly. The Defense Ministry deployed more than 408,000 soldiers and police across the country. Around 41 million citizens were called upon to vote. (sda/dpa)