President-elect of Colombia accuses Petro of attempting a "coup d'état"
The elected president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, accused incumbent Gustavo Petro and the losing candidate in the presidential election Iván Cepeda of trying to carry out a coup d'état in the country.
In a video published on the social network X this Tuesday (7), Espriella stated that Petro and Cepeda started what he called "plan B to stay in power". He called on Colombian institutions, including the Army, and the international community to remain firm in defending democracy and constitutional order.
The elected president also announced that he suspended the transition process with the current government, after Petro stated that he did not recognize the legitimacy of the authorities who are about to take over and said that Espriella "did not win the elections".
"I have just given instructions to the elected vice-president of the Republic to immediately suspend the transition process with the corrupt government that is ending its term", said Espriella on X.
The announcement was made after Petro, who had promised to respect the results of the final vote count, denounced, without concrete evidence, what he called "algorithmic electoral fraud" and stated that Iván Cepeda, the government candidate, was defeated by Espriella.
"The president of Colombia does not recognize the legitimacy of the government he will take over. Abelardo did not win the election," said Petro, who also called for marches for July 20 - National Independence Day -, almost three weeks before the scheduled date for the transfer of power.
Petro made these statements hours after Espriella announced that, upon taking office, he would revoke the main mechanisms of the "Total Peace" policy - an emblematic initiative of the Historic Pact government to negotiate with guerrilla forces and dissident groups - and promise to reactivate arrest warrants against members of illegal armed groups.
"I make a single offer to those who resort to violence: submission to the justice system, with the benefits provided for in current legislation", maintained the leader of the direct.
In an extensive message, Petro alleged irregularities in voting abroad - where Espriella obtained a significant advantage -, noting that the leader of the Defensores de la Patria movement had also won within his own country. He also criticized the National Registry for outsourcing cybersecurity systems to foreign companies.
Regarding the transition process, vice-president-elect José Manuel Restrepo - in charge of leading and coordinating the work - commented on Espriella's announcement on X: "Let it be absolutely clear: this decision does not interrupt our work. We will continue to investigate, gather information and rigorously document the reality of the country and the challenges that the next government will have to face."
Who is Abelardo de la Espriella, president-elect of Colombia
*With information from CNN Spanish
Source: CNN