Abelardo de la Espriella elected Colombian president: National Electoral Council

BOGOTA -- Colombia's National Electoral Council on Wednesday officially declared Abelardo de la Espriella, a right-wing candidate, president-elect for the 2026-2030 term following ballot counting for Sunday's election.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ivan Cepeda, the candidate of the left-wing coalition Historic Pact, conceded defeat during a livestream.

Colombia held the second round of its presidential election on Sunday, in which De la Espriella faced Cepeda.

Preliminary results released by Colombia's National Civil Registry on Sunday night showed De la Espriella leading Cepeda by about 1 percentage point.

Under Colombia's electoral system, vote counting follows a two-step process. After election day, a preliminary count is conducted by a technical service provider commissioned by the National Civil Registry, but the result has no legal effect.

It is followed by an official canvass led by Colombian judges and electoral officials. That count is legally binding and serves as the final result.

Local media reported that the official scrutiny was completed on Wednesday and showed only a small difference from the preliminary count.