Ivan Cepeda concedes defeat in Colombia election, sealing right-wing win
Key takeaways
- Presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda accepted the victory of his opponent Abelardo de la Espriella.
- “I have decided to accept the result of this process, which indicates that Abelardo de la Espriella is the new president of the Republic,” said Cepeda in a livestreamed address on Wednesday.
- The vote must now be verified at the departmental and national levels.
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Presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda accepted the victory of his opponent Abelardo de la Espriella.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Ivan Cepeda concedes defeat in the presidential election at a news conference in Bogota, Colombia, on Wednesday [Ivan Valencia/AP Photo]By Alfie Pannell Published On 24 Jun 202624 Jun 2026Bogota, Colombia – Colombian presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda officially conceded defeat to hard-right populist Abelardo de la Espriella this morning following a tight run-off race.
While Cepeda had recognised the legitimacy of the preliminary results on Sunday, which gave de la Espriella a less than 1 percent lead, he said he would wait for the final, legally binding vote count, known as the scrutiny, before accepting defeat.