On June 21 local time, Colombia held a second-round presidential vote. Voters will choose the new president between Aveledo de Espejo, a candidate from the far-right political group "Defensores de la Patria", and Ivan Peña, a candidate from the left-wing ruling coalition "Alianza Histórica Colombiana".
According to CNN, preliminary voting results released by the Colombian National Civil Registry show that Delgado Espinoza won with 49.65% of the votes cast, while Saperda lost with 48.71%. This means that after four years of left-wing governance, conservatives could take control of Colombia's government again.
Initial voting results show that the gap between the two candidates is less than 250,000 votes. Dela Espinaye won the presidential election by a narrow margin of nearly 1 percentage point. Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated that since the difference between the two candidates is very small, it is not yet possible to announce who will be elected as the new president. He will comply with the final decision of the judicial authority.
Sepeida also stated that the preliminary vote counts are not legally binding, and they will wait for the official results. He said, “Our network of observers has tens of thousands of members, who are working with lawyers to review 33,000 polling stations across the country.”
According to Colombia's current electoral system, the voting process uses a 'dual-track' approach. After the election day, preliminary counting is conducted by technical services commissioned by the Colombian National Civil Registry. However, this result is not legally binding. Subsequently, official recounts are carried out by Colombian judges and electoral officials. These recounts are legally binding and serve as the final result.
But Dela Espuylea announced his victory, urging his supporters to defend the election results. During his speech to the supporters, he said that the election results would “change the course of Colombian history.” “Under such complex circumstances, we are grateful to God for creating this miracle. We have successfully defeated the ruling party—this is an epic feat, one that can only be achieved with God’s grace.”
During the campaign period, Draghi visited Florida in the United States and received public support from U.S. President Donald Trump and several American Republican lawmakers. After the preliminary vote results were announced, Draghi revealed that he had received congratulations from Trump: "I just spoke on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump, who expressed his support and recognition for our victory."
Ávildo de la Esprileja IC Photo
U.S. Secretary of State Rubio subsequently posted on social media, stating that he had congratulated Draghi on his election victory. He said, “The Trump administration looks forward to working closely with the incoming government to promote regional security cooperation, prevent illegal immigration into the United States, and strengthen our economic ties. Good times for Colombia are yet to come.”
The 47-year-old Dráa Esprella holds dual citizenship in Colombia and the United States. He has never held any elected positions. He obtained his campaign qualifications by collecting signatures from Colombian citizens, rather than relying on support from major political parties. Before entering politics, he was a criminal defense lawyer and also released a cover album as a singer.
De La Espelea founded several businesses, including a piano bar and a luxury company, and invested in a rum company. During the election campaign, he sold expensive limited-edition watches to donors.
Dela Espreia publicly praised Trump's policies, advocating for "tough measures" to combat crime and corruption, and vowing to build giant prisons to incarcerate the leaders of criminal groups. On economic policy, Dela Espreia advocated for a free market economy, considering reducing the size of the government, lowering taxes, and restricting resource exploitation as ways to restore national order and achieve economic growth.
He listed the “cultural war” as one of his campaign pledges, portraying himself as a defender of “traditional families,” and explicitly opposing abortion and “gender ideology.” On foreign policy, this right-wing candidate emphasized his connection to the US administration of Donald Trump, expressing confidence in restoring diplomatic relations between Colombia and the United States in order to jointly address security crises.
CNN stated that Draespleya's campaign focused on "creating hype," recording music, promoting a rum brand, and interacting with supporters through content generated by artificial intelligence on social media. He often wore football shirts and straw hats, yelling anti-Peetro government slogans, and vowing to "destroy Colombia's left-wing forces."
In contrast, the candidate of the governing coalition, Cepeda, supports most of the policies of the current president Petro. He advocates retaining some of Petro’s social policies, but seeks to change the security strategy. He believes that Colombia is facing significant challenges, and negotiations with domestic armed groups must yield “clear results”.
Sepeda's campaign focused mainly on eliminating inequality, deepening land reforms, and fighting corruption. He also criticized the United States' policies on drugs and opposed the US military intervention in Latin America. CNN believes this reflects Sepeda's skepticism towards the United States' regional security agenda.
Political analyst Miguel Luhán said that Dela Esprilea has great acting talent, which is one of the reasons why he can lead in the voting.
If the final vote confirms that Delaespuche wins, Colombia will welcome a conservative government after four years of left-wing rule. Colombian security analyst Luis Villamalan believes that Petro implemented the “Total Peace” policy in 2022, attempting to resolve the long-standing armed conflict in the country. However, voters have never seen any tangible security benefits from this strategic commitment.
Vira Malin said that the "comprehensive peace" policy has failed to yield results, which directly affected the campaign of the ruling coalition. "What we see is not a reduction in war; there is still as much war as before, only the number of people involved has increased."
According to The New York Times in the United States, many Colombian voters are unwilling to continue supporting the ruling coalition due to unresolved security issues. Carlos Morales, a waiter working in Barranquilla, said, “The left side is demanding a chance, but we haven’t seen any good opportunities.”
Although Dela Espiña lacks political experience, choosing the former Colombian Finance Minister Jose Manuel Reestrebo as his running mate also increased voter approval. Brian Emmanuel Ariza, a student from Bogotá, said, “This gives him more credibility; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten so many votes.”
The term of office for the President of Colombia is four years, and the president is elected directly by the people and cannot be re-elected. The newly elected president will take office on August 7th after the second round of voting.
