Far-right lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella wins tight Colombian presidential election

Far-right lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella narrowly won Colombia's second-round presidential election, according to preliminary vote counts.

With 99.9% of ballots reported on the morning of June 22, De La Espriella secured 49.7% of the vote, while his opponent, leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda, received 48.7%.

Cepeda, 63, had pledged to maintain the policies of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, including popular social measures and continued peace talks with armed groups.

In contrast, De La Espriella blamed Petro for the country's economic and security woes, vowing to end negotiations with rebel groups, boost the oil and gas industry, and cut taxes.

“I will govern for all Colombians,” De La Espriella told a crowd of supporters in the coastal city of Barranquilla.

Earlier, he said he received a congratulatory call from US President Donald Trump. De La Espriella also holds US and Italian citizenship and owns homes in multiple countries.

“This is a victory for Colombia – a change after four years of going astray,” said Viviana Olivos, a 46-year-old mechanical engineer at the celebration, speaking to Reuters.

De La Espriella's victory marks the return of the right to power in Colombia, a force that has governed the country for nearly 200 years, except for the four years under President Petro.

However, the razor-thin margin will force De La Espriella to moderate some of his proposals to secure support from a divided Congress. The lawyer, who has no prior political experience, will also face a large public debt. An investigation by local news site La Silla Vacia found that many of his businesses have been dissolved, are in debt, or are incurring losses.

Major business associations congratulated De La Espriella on his win, while upper- and middle-class neighborhoods in Bogota and Medellin held celebrations.

More than 26.3 million Colombians cast ballots, out of 41.4 million eligible voters.

Cepeda told supporters he would wait for a recount of every ballot box, saying his campaign was challenging results from about 33,000 of the 122,000 ballot boxes.

“We are ready to dialogue; we are ready to reach agreements as long as they are respectful, sincere, and reflected in political actions that benefit the nation and preserve the historical progress we have made,” Cepeda said.

Security was a top concern for many voters who backed De La Espriella, especially in areas where extortion and drug trafficking have recently surged. Leftist armed groups and criminal gangs formed by former right-wing paramilitaries have fought each other and the state for over 60 years.

During his campaign, De La Espriella vowed to scrap peace talks with breakaway groups and launch a 90-day US-backed airstrike campaign against them.

“Bitterness wins again. Unfortunately, we live in a country where differences persist,” said Margarita Restrepo, a Cepeda supporter, told Reuters. Around her neck hung a photo of her daughter, Carol Vanessa Restrepo, who went missing in 2002 during a security operation led by former President Alvaro Uribe – an ally of De La Espriella.

Colombia's vote comes amid a rightward shift in Latin America, as voters in Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Bolivia, and Ecuador have all elected conservative presidents in their most recent elections.