Leftist candidate Iván Cepeda conceded defeat in Colombia’s presidential runoff, three days after record numbers of Colombians voted.
Preliminary results released just hours after polls closed showed Cepeda losing to his rival, right-wing businessman Abelardo de la Espriella, by less than 1%.
Cepeda originally said it would wait for the final, legally binding tally, which is still ongoing, but announced on Wednesday that it had “decided to accept the results.”
He criticized US President Donald Trump for supporting de la Espriella.
“We condemn open and unwarranted foreign interference in Colombia’s internal affairs, especially President Donald Trump’s intervention,” he told reporters.
After winning the first round of the election, Trump praised de la Espriella and labeled Cepeda a “radical left-wing Marxist.”
After de la Espriella defeated Cepeda in the runoff, Trump said he won “easily,” even though his margin of 0.96 percentage points was the narrowest in recent history for a Colombian presidential candidate.
Citing Colombia’s extreme polarization, Cepeda said he decided to make concessions “as an act of democratic responsibility and to contribute to coexistence, peace and dialogue among Colombians.”
As the second-place candidate, he said he was eligible to become a senator, where he would exercise a “democratic, vigilant and constructive opposition.”
Abelardo de la Espriella, who threatened to “eliminate the left” during the campaign, also struck a conciliatory note in his victory speech, saying those who think differently from him have nothing to fear.
After Sunday’s runoff election, de la Espriella has already forged a closer relationship with the Trump administration than outgoing President Gustavo Petro, who clashed repeatedly with the U.S. president.
Colombia’s president-elect said Tuesday he would accept an invitation for his country to join the “Shield of the Americas,” a U.S.-led alliance of Western Hemisphere countries to fight criminal cartels and drug trafficking.
De la Espriella is scheduled to take office on August 7.
