The far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella surprised this Sunday by obtaining the largest vote in the first round of the presidential elections in Colombiawho had a participation of 57.88%, and will contest the second round on June 21 with the leftist Iván Cepeda, who questioned the results.
Turnout was the highest for a first round since the 1991 Constitution came into force. in a traditionally abstentionist country where voting is not mandatory and attendance at the polls is usually slightly above 50%.
The National Registryorganizer of the elections, reported that, with 99.99% of the tables informed, De la Espriella, from the far-right Defenders of the Homeland movement, received 10,361,413 votes (43.74%), which means an advantage of 673,168 ballots against Cepeda, who obtained 9,688,245 votes (40.9%).
This preliminary result was rejected by the Colombian president, Gustavo Petrowho for months has questioned the transparency of the electoral system and today said: “As president I do not accept the results of the pre-count” and added that he will wait for the scrutiny that must be carried out in the coming days.
The far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella speaks at the end of election day this Sunday, in Barranquilla, Colombia. (EFE/ Ernesto Guzmán Jr).
/ Ernesto Guzman Jr.
“More than ten million Colombians trusted ‘El Tigre’, they joined the pack. We are going to the second round to defeat tyranny, absolutism. In 21 days we are going to change the history of Colombia forever,” For his part, De la Espriella expressed, whom his followers identify with the feline, upon knowing the results.
The candidate of the Democratic Center, Paloma Valencia, with 1.6 million votes, took third place and she is the big loser of these elections because her vote is much lower than the 12% that the latest polls gave her, and even lower than the 3.2 million votes she obtained on March 8 in the consultation of center and right-wing parties in which she was elected candidate.
In fourth place Sergio Fajardo, of the center party Dignidad & Compromiso, with one million votes, representing 4.26%.
Another centrist candidate, the former mayor of Bogotá Claudia Lopez, came in fifth place with 225,517 votes (0.95%).
The Colombian presidential candidate of the ruling Historical Pact party, Iván Cepeda, speaks after knowing the first results of the presidential elections in Colombia. (Photo by Raúl ARBOLEDA / AFP).
/ RAUL ARBOLEDA
In his speech after learning the results, Cepeda was less emphatic than Petro and raised doubts about the Registry’s figures.
“There is a gap that we want to verify regarding the electoral roll, and that is not just any gap: we are talking about 885,000 people,” said Cepeda in Bogotá before his followers, without giving details about the origin of that figure.
From Espriellawho appeared before his followers on a boat on the Magdalena River, in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla, responded: “Petro, Cepeda, pair of criminals, don’t dare, don’t think of ignoring the popular will because here there is a people that is going to confront them and defeat them.”
After Sunday’s votes, Senator Valencia did not hesitate and immediately announced that she will support De la Espriella in the second round..
“Personally, as Paloma Valencia, the woman who wanted to be your president, I announce my support for Dr. Abelardo de la Espriella,” express Valenciawho said that he will work so that Colombia “does not fall into the hands of communism or the neo-communism that Senator Cepeda and President Gustavo Petro represent,” in his opinion.
However, His vice-presidential running mate, Juan Daniel Oviedo, stated that the votes they expected to receive from a good part of the right “disappeared” due to De la Espriella’s campaign, which he considered “dirty, sexist, homophobic.”
Oviedo, an openly gay economist, said that, unlike Valenciawill report on June 3 its position regarding the second round because it is “a serious decision.”
The candidate Fajardo, for his part, assured that the million votes he obtained in the first round is “important” to define the contest between De la Espriella and Cepeda.
“These million votes are important to define the fate of our country. And our voice will be heard because it is the future of Colombia that is in our hands and we are going to make Colombia think about what we have done.”“said Fajardo in Bogotá after learning the results of the day.
The former senator Roy Barreras, which barely received 14,108 votes (0.05%) and came in penultimate place among 11 candidates, announced his support for Cepeda’s candidacy and asked the leftist candidate to look for the “three million votes” that he believes the political center obtained this Sunday to defeat De la Espriella.
