Political Drama in Colombia: Right-wing candidate leads in presidential elections ahead of second round
[78401] Political Drama in Colombia: Right-wing candidate leads in presidential elections ahead of second round
Right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella leads in the first round of Colombia's presidential elections, while incumbent President Gustavo Petro challenges the results.
Drama in Colombia's presidential elections: The Right leads on the way to the second round
After counting over 99% of the votes in the Colombian presidential elections held yesterday, right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella is leading with about 43.7%-44% of the vote, as reported by Abu Ali Express and Asaf Rozensweig. Facing him was the left-wing candidate, Iván Cepeda (associated with incumbent President Gustavo Petro), who won about 40.9% of the vote.
Since no candidate crossed the 50% threshold required to win in the first round, the country will head to a decisive runoff on June 21. Abu Ali Express, a pro-Israel oriented channel that highlights Espriella's positions as an "explicit supporter of Israel," reports that the center-right candidate Paloma Laserna (or Valencia, according to Asaf Rozensweig's report), who won about 6%-7% of the vote, has already announced her support for Espriella ahead of the second round.
Exchange of accusations and international reactions
Asaf Rozensweig notes that the right-wing candidate ran a "sweeping" campaign that focused on fighting crime in the style of the President of El Salvador, while promising to build new prisons. Conversely, incumbent President Gustavo Petro – known for leftist positions critical of Israel – refused to accept the preliminary results. Abu Ali Express reports that Petro is demanding a recount of about 800,000 votes, even though the gap between the candidates stands at about 700,000 votes. Asaf Rozensweig adds that according to the New York Times, no material irregularities were recorded in the voting, although two of De la Espriella's campaign workers were murdered.
Internationally, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Argentine President Javier Milei were quick to congratulate De la Espriella on his achievement in the first round, a move reflecting De la Espriella's connection to Israel and the global conservative camp.