Abelardo de la Espriella secured 43.7% of the vote and will face Iván Cepeda in the June 21 runoff. Preliminary results show a margin of nearly 700,000 votes for the right-wing candidate.
With 99.98% of tables counted, De la Espriella tallied 10.36 million votes while Cepeda reached 9.69 million. Turnout reached 57.88% of the electoral roll.
The Defensores por la Patria candidate celebrated the result in Barranquilla and reiterated his opposition to President Gustavo Petro’s government. Cepeda, an ally of the president, initially questioned the quick count but later acknowledged he found no irregularities large enough to allege fraud.
Markets reacted sharply. The MSCI Colcap rose 6.85% and led global indices. The Colombian peso appreciated 1.91% against the dollar over five days and dollar-denominated bonds advanced.
De la Espriella conditioned any debate on Cepeda accepting the results. Cepeda proposed clear rules for the encounter and maintained his willingness to debate before the runoff.
