Cepeda concedes Colombia presidential runoff to de la Espriella
Ivan Cepeda accepted defeat after a tight runoff, clearing the way for Abelardo de la Espriella to become Colombia’s president.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Colombian presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda conceded the runoff election on Wednesday, ending his challenge to right-wing rival Abelardo de la Espriella after a close vote. The concession gives de la Espriella a clear path to the presidency, even as some election verification steps remain unfinished.
Al Jazeera reported that Cepeda had already acknowledged the validity of preliminary results released Sunday, which showed de la Espriella ahead by less than 1 percent. Cepeda had said he would wait for the formal vote review, known in Colombia as the scrutiny, before accepting the outcome.
In a livestreamed statement from Bogota, Cepeda said he had decided to accept the process showing de la Espriella as Colombia’s next president. He framed the move as a democratic gesture meant to ease tensions after a contested campaign.
“I am doing this as an act of democratic responsibility, to contribute to harmony, peace and dialogue among Colombians,” Cepeda said, according to Al Jazeera.
Election review continues
The National Registry, Colombia’s election authority, said Tuesday that municipal-level checks by judges found Sunday’s preliminary count to be 99.997 percent accurate, Al Jazeera reported. The vote still has to be reviewed at departmental and national levels before the process is fully complete.
Cepeda’s camp had raised doubts about the vote count. President Gustavo Petro, who was closely involved in Cepeda’s campaign and founded the Historic Pact movement, alleged fraud and foreign interference before and after election day.
Petro wrote Monday that “electoral manipulation has been proven,” while adding that he could not say whether what had been found would be enough to show a Cepeda victory, according to Al Jazeera. The president has spent months warning about risks in vote-counting software and has repeatedly clashed with the National Registry.
Petro’s concerns drew on Colombia’s 2022 legislative election, when his Historic Pact coalition gained roughly 500,000 votes after the official scrutiny process, Al Jazeera reported. That experience led Petro and Cepeda supporters to believe the roughly 250,000-vote gap reported Sunday could still change.
The National Registry, however, also reported strong accuracy in the preliminary count for the March legislative election and the first round of the presidential race on May 31, according to Al Jazeera.
Petro alleges foreign interference
Petro also argued that United States President Donald Trump’s endorsement of de la Espriella undermined the election. In a post on X on Tuesday, Petro wrote that Trump’s “direct intervention nullifies the elections in Colombia,” Al Jazeera reported.
Cepeda’s concession appeared to create distance between him and Petro over how to respond to the result. Sergio Guzman, director of the political risk consultancy Colombia Risk Analysis, told Al Jazeera the move suggested “some sort of schism” between the two men.
Guzman said Petro’s term is nearing its end, while Cepeda is likely to become the opposition’s main figure. Al Jazeera reported that Cepeda is expected to lead the Historic Pact party in the Senate after the defeat.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.