Bogota: Trump-endorsed right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella secured a narrow victory over his leftist rival Ivan Cepeda in Sunday's presidential elections. As per initial tally, Espriella secured 49.65% of the votes cast while Cepeda, secured 48.70% of the votes.
Espriella's campaign focused on a strong crackdown on crimes plaguing the nation as well as measures to boost the Colombian economy. He vowed to end peace talks with criminal groups and instead opt for a stringent military response, lower taxes and reduce the size of the state by 40%. Espriella's hard line visions have earned him the nickname of 'The Tiger' among his followers.
Rival Ivan Cepeda, in his campaign, had promised to continue the policies of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, a former rebel and the country's first leftist president. These include peace talks with armed groups, pension payments for the poor and union-bcaked labour reforms, among others. Espriella, who blamed Petro's policies for the economic and security troubles facing Colombia, however stated that he would continue with the popular social-security measures initiated by the outgoing president.
"I will govern for all Colombians, for those who voted for me and for those who chose the other candidate," Espriella told a crowd of supporters gathered in the city of Barranquilla.
De La Espriella, a lawyer with no prior political experience, has also been endorsed by US President Donald Trump. In a short live-stream appearance on his YouTube channel, Espriella stated that he had spoken with Trump, who offered his congratulations. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Espriella 'won big'.
However, Ivan Cepeda told his supporters at an event in Bogota that he would await a final, ballot-by-ballot check of the initial count, saying his campaign is challenging results from some 33,000 ballot boxes, out of 122,000 in total. His supporters are a significant political force, he added, and must have a seat at the table.
In Sunday's presidential elections, more than 26.3 million Colombians cast ballots of the 41.4 million eligible to vote. Registrar figures showed that some 426,000 voters turned in blank ballots, usually seen as a sign of protest.
-With inputs from Reuters