Colombia votes: Far-right candidate De la Espriella favorite to win presidency

Colombia held the second round of its presidential election Sunday. About 41.4 million Colombians are eligible to vote for the successor of current President Gustavo Petro. The two candidates are far-right politician Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist Iván Cepeda. De la Espriella, a lawyer and candidate of the far-right movement Defensores de la Patria, leads in all polls. He voted in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla, expressing confidence in victory. "We have to defeat the tyranny," he said after voting. "We will defeat the regime with the fervor of the Colombian people and the help of God. Today Colombia wins, firm for the fatherland." Dressed in a Colombian national soccer team shirt and a Panama hat with a tricolor ribbon, De la Espriella was accompanied by his wife, four children, and a crowd chanting "President, president," "Out with Petro," and "Firm for the fatherland," his campaign slogan. Before voting, he posted on X: "Today Colombia plays the most important match. Today we decide the future of our homeland and the future of our children. With God's help and the support of millions of Colombians, we will win this democratic battle." Senator Iván Cepeda, the official candidate of the leftist Pacto Histórico coalition, voted in Bogotá, hoping for a comeback. He arrived to cheers from supporters, accompanied by key allies including former minister Susana Muhamad and Senator María José Pizarro. President Petro, after voting, said he will not stay "one second more" in office after August 7, when the winner takes power. He dismissed speculation that he would not hand over power, calling talk of "dictatorships" false. "A strange dictator who hands over his mandate," he said. "A strange dictator who has not taken a single political prisoner, no prisoner of conscience. No one has been persecuted for their opinions, beliefs, religion, culture, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation." At the formal opening ceremony in Bogotá's Bolívar Square, Petro, election official Hernán Penagos, Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, and other authorities called for "electoral peace" and respect for the results. Petro urged Colombians to "vote however possible, overcoming any obstacle, geographic or logistical difficulty." He suggested he would accept only the official count by judges, not the preliminary count. "I will obey the judges, as the law and Constitution say," Petro said. "Everything before the judges' decision counts as information, but what binds is the judge." Penagos called on citizens to "vote with enthusiasm" and "reaffirm their democratic principles," adding that Colombians must be "capable of resolving political differences peacefully." In the first round on May 31, De la Espriella, nicknamed "The Tiger" and backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, won 10.3 million votes (43.78%). Cepeda, a senator from Petro's party, received 9.7 million (40.98%). The Defense Ministry deployed 408,000 military and police personnel to ensure election security and prevent interference from illegal armed groups, especially in rural areas where there have been reports of threats to voters and civilians.