Trump-endorsed de la Espriella declared winner of Colombia’s presidential runoff election
De la Espriella won by about 1 percentage point after a recount and will take office Aug. 7, officials said.
- Electoral authorities confirmed Conservative Abelardo de la Espriella as Colombia's next leader following Sunday's runoff, as the millionaire political neophyte defeated progressive lawmaker Cepeda by more than 251,000 votes.
- More than 26 million people voted in the polarizing runoff, setting a historic record; over 426,000 voters selected a third, no-name option while about 29,000 cast blank ballots.
- Trump-Backed Espriella, who has never held office, announced Tuesday he is assembling his Cabinet; his victory reflects an indictment of outgoing President Gustavo Petro's government.
- Earlier Wednesday, Cepeda conceded the election and accepted a Senate seat reserved for the runner-up, while the campaign stated the president-elect's purpose is to "work for national unity."
- Espriella promised voters a heavy-handed approach to combating violent crime using strategies borrowed from Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and plans to add Colombia to the Trump-dubbed "Shield of the Americas" coalition.
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117 Articles
By Mauricio Torres, CNN en Español The ultra-rightist candidate Abelardo de la Espriella was declared winner of last Sunday's presidential election in Colombia, according to a resolution that the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced this Wednesday. De la Espriella, postulated by the Defensores de la Patria movement, obtained 12 million 960.166 votes, while its left-wing rival Ivan Cepeda, of the official Historical Pact, reached 12 million…
Progressive candidate concedes Colombian presidential election to outsider endorsed by Trump
Election results showed de la Espriella, a businessman and lawyer who had never run for office, defeated Cepeda, a lawmaker, by 1 percentage point, or nearly 251,000 votes.
The right turn in South America continues: in Colombia, another right-wing politician wins the presidential election with de la Espriella. Left-wing candidate Cepeda admitted his defeat.
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