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Narrow runoff win
Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia’s presidential runoff with 49,66% of the votes against Iván Cepeda’s 48,69% after 99,58% of the mesas escrutadas, according to the boletín number 17 issued by the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil.
“De la Espriella obtuvo el 49,66% de los votos, mientras que Cepeda recogió 48,69% de sufragios.”
With the margin of 0,98% described as the narrowest in the country’s history, De la Espriella—an abogado y empresario—was set to assume the presidency on 7 de agosto for a four-year term (2026-2030), while Cepeda and President Gustavo Petro questioned the preliminary count results.
NBC 6 South Florida said early vote counts showed de la Espriella leading by roughly 250,000 votes and that final election results were expected to be announced Tuesday, with the outcome potentially ending Colombia’s first left-wing presidency under Petro.
The BBC reported that with over 99% of votes counted, de la Espriella had won nearly 49.7% while Cepeda won 48.7% in the initial count, and that Cepeda had not conceded because the preliminary count was “not yet official or binding.”
Protests and disputes
After the preliminary results, thousands protested in Bogotá and Cali against De la Espriella’s election, with the ABC describing “arengas, bocinazos y música” filling the streets.
In Bogotá, Iván Cepeda said the preliminary vote count result was “not official or binding” and vowed “to challenge” it, while President Gustavo Petro wrote “Neither can be proclaimed president. It is the scrutiny that determines who is the president.”
The BBC reported that late on Sunday there were clashes between protesters and police in Cali, with demonstrators burning US flags and police using tear gas to break up large crowds angry at de la Espriella’s win.
De la Espriella, who told supporters in Barranquilla “Tonight marks the beginning of a new story for the nation, tonight a new era begins, a change of order,” also pledged loyalty to the country’s 1991 constitution and said “I’m going to govern for all Colombians.”
What’s at stake next
Multiple outlets framed the stakes as a shift in how Colombia would tackle internal armed conflict and violence, with the BBC saying de la Espriella pledged a military crackdown on illegal armed groups, drug trafficking and crime.
“De la Espriella, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, has pledged a military crackdown on illegal armed groups, drug trafficking and crime.”
NBC 6 South Florida said de la Espriella campaigned on promises to crack down on drug trafficking, reduce business regulations, lower taxes and revive oil and gas projects that were halted during Petro’s administration, while also warning that he would inherit “many of the same challenges that plagued Petro’s administration.”
Inside Climate News reported that under outgoing President Gustavo Petro, Colombia banned fracking and became the first major oil-producing nation to halt new oil and gas exploration licenses, and it said a de la Espriella presidency could mean expanded fossil fuel extraction including controversial fracking projects.
A climate policy advocate, Gina Cortés Valderrama, said a de la Espriella administration would treat Colombia as “a pantry of resources to be exploited and placed on the market,” and warned that “What is at stake is not only domestic policy,” but also “Colombia’s position in the international arena.”
