Independent candidate Abelardo De la Espriella, associated with the far-right Defenders of the Homeland movement, has won Colombia's presidential runoff election and is set to become the country's next president for the 2026-2030 term, according to preliminary results from the National Civil Registry.
Election Results
With 98.22 percent of ballots counted, De la Espriella secured 49.77 percent of the votes, while his rival Ivan Cepeda garnered 48.59 percent. The second round of voting took place from 8 a.m. local time (1300 GMT) to 4 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday. More than 41.4 million registered voters were eligible to cast ballots at approximately 13,000 polling stations nationwide.
Electoral System
According to Colombia's current electoral system, a candidate must win over 50 percent of the votes in the first round to be elected president directly. Since no candidate reached that threshold, the top two candidates advanced to a runoff, where the candidate with the most votes wins.
Candidate Profile
De la Espriella, 47, is a lawyer and a non-traditional political figure. He advocates for shaping national governance through an iron-fisted approach to security and drastic cuts in public spending. His running mate is Jose Manuel Restrepo, Colombia's former Minister of Finance and Public Credit. The new president will take office on August 7.
