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Petro alleges fraud
Colombia’s outgoing leftist president Gustavo Petro alleged electoral fraud after preliminary results from a presidential run-off showed his handpicked candidate lost by a small margin.
“Colombia’s outgoing leftist president, Gustavo Petro, has alleged electoral fraud after preliminary results from a presidential run-off saw his handpicked candidate lose by a small margin”
Petro said the opposition bought votes and that Israel and the United States interfered to help opposition far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella win, and he refused to recognize the results while calling for an investigation by the judiciary.
According to preliminary results released on Monday by the National Registry, which manages vote numbers, de la Espriella narrowly won with 49.66 percent over Cepeda’s 48.7 percent, and Trump-backed de la Espriella, 47, is to take office on August 7.
NPR reported that with over 99% of the vote counted in the preliminary tally, de la Espriella led with 49.7% over Iván Cepeda’s 48.7%, while the remaining ballots were blank votes, and it said a slower, official manual count is expected over the coming days.
Competing claims and protests
Petro posted on X that there was evidence of manipulation of Form E-14, the official handwritten tally of sheets filled out by poll workers at each voting station, and he said, "Today we have evidence of a change in IP addresses of several servers of the national registry,".
He also claimed, "The only entity in the world capable of doing that is the state of Israel," while the National Registry manages vote numbers and the quick count results were released by electoral authorities.
In response to the quick count, NPR said Cepeda recognized the results but his campaign considers them "unofficial and non-binding," and it is challenging the results from approximately 33,000 ballot boxes.
In Bogota, Straight Arrow News said protesters set tires on fire and threw bricks at police, while it also described demonstrations in Cali where demonstrators burned American flags and clashed with riot police using tear gas.
What happens next
De la Espriella told supporters, "Today begins a new stage for our country," and NPR reported that the razor-thin margin meant no final result has been certified, with an official manual count expected over the coming days.
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NPR said Cepeda, a close ally of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, was challenging the results from approximately 33,000 ballot boxes, while it also reported that Petro called for calm and declared that neither candidate could "be proclaimed" until the initial count vote count was ratified.
The Times of Israel reported that de la Espriella pledged to "renew a strategic alliance with the State of Israel," open an embassy in Jerusalem, and defend "the Judeo-Christian principles that form the foundation of Western civilization," while it said Cepeda promised to stick to Petro’s stance on Israel.
CNN en Español reported that Trump said de la Espriella will be a "great president" and anticipated the bilateral relationship will be "much better" than with the government of Gustavo Petro, whose outgoing administration was described as having strained relations with the United States.
