Colombia’s Next President? De la Espriella Leads by Less Than 1%
Part of composite article ‘El Tigre’ Wins Colombia by a Hair: De la Espriella Edges Out Leftist Rival by Less Than 1% View full article →
Right-wing criminal lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia’s presidency in the preliminary count, defeating left-wing senator Iván Cepeda by less than one percentage point. The runoff was the closest in the country’s history.
With about 99.9% of polling stations processed, De la Espriella received 49.66% of the vote against Cepeda’s 48.70%. The difference is roughly 250,000 ballots.
De la Espriella acknowledged the preliminary count but warned he would not accept the result until the final tally. He has challenged 33,000 of the 120,000 polling tables.
President Gustavo Petro said that “neither can proclaim himself president.”