Colombia’s Presidential Race Heads to Runoff Between De La Espriella and Cepeda
- On Sunday, Colombian voters sent lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and Senator Iván Cepeda to a presidential runoff scheduled for June 21, after De la Espriella led with more than 43% and Cepeda secured less than 41% of votes.
- The election functions as a referendum on outgoing President Gustavo Petro's 'total peace' policy, which aims to negotiate ceasefires with armed factions 10 years after Colombia signed the historic peace pact with FARC.
- De la Espriella, known as 'The Tiger,' advocates for a militaristic crackdown modeled on President Nayib Bukele's approach, while Cepeda promises to deepen reforms and continue what he describes as a 'democratic revolution' under Petro.
- Washington is closely watching the runoff given Colombia's strategic role in hemispheric drug trafficking and migration efforts, as the result will determine whether the nation aligns closer with President Donald Trump or pursues independent foreign policy.
- Candidates must now court the less than 7% of voters who supported Paloma Valencia to secure victory in the highly polarized June 21 contest, which will set Colombia on sharply diverging political paths.
420 Articles
420 Articles
Would-be strongman wins first round in Colombia with promise of 'iron fist'
BOGOTA, Colombia — Trump loyalist Abelardo de la Espriella won a surprise victory in the first round of Colombia’s presidential elections, with voters choosing his promised “iron fist” on organized crime in the mould of El Salvador’s wildly popular strongman Nayib Bukele. De la Espriella, a lawyer and political “outsider,” defeated leftist continuity candidate Senator Iván Cepeda by 43.7 per cent to 40.9 per cent on Sunday. The two candidates fa…
The victory of the ultra-rightist Abelardo de la Espriella in the first round of the presidential elections in Colombia surprised inside and outside the country, as progressive Ivan Cepeda led all the polls from becoming a standard-bearer of the Historical Pact until the formal closure of the campaigns. According to the pre-counting reported by the National Civil State Registry (an organ that carries out the electoral processes, but also has oth…
The ultra Abelardo lawyer of the Espriella will be measured with the petrist Ivan Cepeda in the second round
Colombia: De la Espriella and Cepeda Advance to Runoff in Presidential Elections
Abelardo de la Espriella and Iván Cepeda will advance to the second round of Colombia’s presidential elections after neither candidate won over half of the votes in the first round held this Sunday, May 31. Far-right lawyer De la Espriella came in first place, obtaining 10,338,440 votes, equivalent to 43.73%. Meanwhile, left-wing candidate Cepeda received 9,673,390 votes, representing 40.91% of the popular support. Colombia’s National Registry r…
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