BOGOTA(News Agency) – Right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella will face left-wing candidate Ivan Cepeda on June 21 in a presidential runoff in Colombia, after Cepeda on Sunday belatedly acknowledged his defeat in the first round of voting. De La Espriella of the Defenders of the Homeland movement, who presents himself as a political “outsider”, won 43.7% of the votes, while Cepeda reached 40.9%, after the counting of all polling station ballots was completed.
Initially, Cepeda did not acknowledge the results, alleging a discrepancy in the voter registry and possible irregularities in more than 800,000 identity cards, but later said he had no evidence of irregularities.
The right-wing candidate made his attendance at a televised debate conditional on Cepeda, an ally of current President Gustavo Petro, acknowledging last week’s first-round results.
“In my capacity as presidential candidate for the Historic Pact and the Alliance for Life, I inform the public that, once the counting is finished, I acknowledge the results of the first round of the presidential election,” Cepeda said on his X account.
