Petro insists on allegation of fraud in Colombia and contradicts observers

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, insisted this Tuesday (2) that there was "possible fraud" in the presidential elections held on Sunday (31), in which the ultra-right candidate Abelardo De La Espriella obtained the majority of votes, advancing to the second round.

"I am presenting proven evidence of possible fraud, which I can hand over to the competent authority. I have already said that I do not recognize the data from the preliminary investigation of the Bautista brothers' software because I have the data," said Petro in a post on X, in which he provided a detailed explanation of the allegations.

According to the complaint, there were changes "to the electoral register and the number of polling stations", which allegedly led to changes in the vote count.

"My commitment to my people and my love for my country, which I have fought for my entire life, compels me to risk everything by sharing this, and I will do so now," Petro added in his post.

When the preliminary results were released on Sunday, both the president and his candidate, Iván Cepeda, questioned the National Register count, which placed De la Espriella with 43.74% of the vote and an advantage of more than 673,000 votes over Cepeda, who received 40.90%.

However, several authorities responsible for electoral oversight in Colombia stated that there were no irregularities.

Petro's claim contradicts observers
The head of the Electoral Mission of the Organization of American States in Colombia and former president of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, stated in a public statement on Monday (1st) that election day was "civic, peaceful and participatory".

The mission was made up of 96 observers, who analyzed the various stages of the process, Fernández said, noting that they confirmed that the vote count was carried out "in accordance with established procedures" and that electoral material was "protected at all times."

The European Union Electoral Observation Mission presented a preliminary statement on the first round of elections at a press conference on Tuesday, concluding that Colombia "will proceed to the second round after a transparent and credible electoral process."

According to Esteban González Pons, head of the Mission, this occurred despite the presence of armed groups in some parts of the country, questions about the electoral system and growing polarization.

In a meeting with the press in Bogotá after the conference, at which CNN was present, González highlighted that, in the opinion of the European Union's international delegation, "there was no fraud."

Colombia "has very strong and well-established democratic institutions, deeply rooted in the people, and the Colombian people do not allow themselves to be interfered with," the official said.

He added that the South American country "will once again find its main ally in democracy, because of all the things that have failed Colombia, democracy is one that has never let it down."

In González's words, "all candidates were able to verify the regularity of the processing of the results and did not raise any objection that would put them in doubt."

The mission sent 143 observers from 24 European Union countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland and Canada, who covered 591 polling stations. The delegation will also observe the second round and present a final report two months after the completion of the process.

Elections in Colombia: Who is Abelardo de la Espriella

Source: CNN