DE LA ESPRIELLA WINS COLOMBIA PRESIDENTIAL RUNOFF BY ONE PERCENT

Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia's presidential runoff on Sunday with 49.66 per cent of the vote, according to preliminary tallies with 99.99 per cent of ballots counted. De la Espriella secured 12.96 million votes, defeating leftwing senator Iván Cepeda, who received 12.7 million votes, or 48.7 per cent. The margin between the candidates was approximately 250,830 votes. A further 1.6 per cent of ballots were cast blank.

De la Espriella's victory represents a rightward shift in Colombian politics following four years under President Gustavo Petro, the country's first and only leftwing president, who was constitutionally barred from seeking re-election and backed Cepeda as his successor. De la Espriella received the endorsement of US President Donald Trump, although only after winning the first round three weeks prior, when he had defeated Cepeda by a larger margin of 673,000 votes. The result follows recent presidential victories by candidates from similar political positions in Honduras, Chile and Peru.

In his victory speech delivered in Barranquilla, where his law firm and campaign headquarters are based, De la Espriella promised to respect the constitution and serve as president for all Colombians. He stated that the rights and opinions of those who did not vote for him would be respected. Cepeda indicated he would challenge results from more than 30,000 voting stations, citing alleged irregularities in the vote count.