One week after voting, candidate supported by Petro recognizes results of presidential elections in Colombia

Colombian presidential candidate Iván Cepeda. Photo from May 2026.
REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
Left-wing senator Iván Cepeda, candidate for the presidency of Colombia and supported by President Gustavo Petro, recognized on Sunday (7) the results of the elections held a week earlier, on May 31.
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"Since the beginning of the electoral campaign, I have strictly respected the democratic rules and the transparency with which information must be public opinion on compliance with them. In my capacity as presidential candidate for the Historic Pact and the Alliance for Life, I inform public opinion that, once the counting of votes has been completed, I recognize the results of the first round of the presidential election", said Cepeda in a statement on the social network According to the Colombian electoral authority, Cepeda finished the count behind Espriella, with 40.90% of the votes, against 43.7% for his rival, according to the Colombian electoral authority. (Read more below who the two candidates are)
Cepeda's refusal to accept the results of the elections so far occurred because the result contradicted expectations before the vote, in which Cepeda was tipped at some point to even win the election in the 1st round. His campaign, however, lost momentum in the days before the vote. Petro also refused to accept the count, and had not reversed his position until the last update of this report.
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Cepeda, however, accused his rival this Monday (8) of planning to stage a self-attack to try to influence the 2nd round of the election. He said that Espriella's action would take place on the eve of voting day.
The senator did not provide any evidence to support the accusation, but he stated that he had received information "through different means" and that he will forward it to the Colombian Attorney General's Office.
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Who is Cepeda?
Elections in Colombia: Abelardo de la Espriella (left) and Ivan Cepedo (right)
Reuters
Senator and philosopher, Ivan Cepeda is part of the Historic Pact party and represents the Colombian left.
The senator is 63 years old and defends the continuity of the policies adopted by the Petro government. He became known mainly for acting in the mediation of peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an agreement signed in 2016.
Despite the agreement, in which the FARC agreed to disarm, dissident guerrilla groups remain active and are held responsible for the violence in the country.
Cepeda was also the center of a judicial process that resulted in the arrest of former president Álvaro Uribe.
In 2012, Uribe accused the leftist of organizing a plot to link him to paramilitary groups
Six years later, the Court concluded that Cepeda acted within his parliamentary role and that Uribe tried to influence witnesses through third parties.
In 2025, however, the Superior Court of Bogotá acquitted the former president of charges of bribery and procedural fraud.
As a candidate for President, Cepeda defends dialogue as a way to end armed conflict with guerrillas. He also supports the increase in the minimum wage, the reduction of benefits for congressmen and an agrarian reform.
The senator promises to continue the social policies implemented during Gustavo Petro's government. The left-wing administration took over the country amid the economic impacts of the pandemic and recorded increases in the minimum wage and a drop in unemployment, but it also faced criticism for the increase in the fiscal deficit and difficulties in approving part of its agenda in Congress.
Even so, the economy does not appear among Colombians' main concerns.

Research by the Invamer institute released this month pointed to public security as the country's main problem for 40% of those interviewed, while unemployment and the economy were cited by 11%.
It was in this scenario that De la Espriella gained strength in the dispute.
Who is Espriella?
Leader at the polls in the 1st round, Abelardo de la Espriella, aged 47, leads the ultra-conservative movement Defenders of Homeland.
The candidate claims to admire right-wing politicians, such as the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele - with whom he has a certain physical similarity.
De la Espriella gained strength in the final stretch of the campaign. Unlike Cepeda, he does not believe that the guerrilla problem will be resolved through dialogue. To address the issue, he promises a military offensive.
Two members of the candidate's campaign were shot dead on May 15. De la Espriella also accused members of Colombian intelligence of participating in a plan to assassinate him.
Known by the nickname "El Tigre", the lawyer also defends removing Colombia from international organizations, such as the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of American States (OAS). According to him, these institutions serve to promote "left-wing policies".
At the same time as he adopts a hard-line speech, the candidate maintains a website called "De la Espriella Style", where he sells alcoholic drinks, books, songs in which he sings and even clothes in which he appears as a poster boy.
De la Espriella has also been involved in controversies. In a TV interview, for example, he boasted about the size of his genitals and stated that this helped him win votes.
The lawyer was also questioned for having defended Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman accused by the US government of acting as an agent for Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Saab was deported to the United States in May.
De la Espriella claims that the professional relationship with Saab began before the accusations emerged. According to him, the two stopped working together six years ago.

Source: G1

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