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A far-right millionaire, Abelardo de a Espriella, has won Colombia's presidential runoff.
According to the preliminary vote tally, De la Espriella secured 12.96 million votes (49.66 per cent) in comparison to left-wing senator Iván Cepeda, who had 12.7 million votes (48.7 per cent) to his name.
De la Espriela's victory would send Colombia back under the right-rule after the country had their first and only left-winger president, Gustavo Petro, for four years, who was banned by the constitution from seeking re-election and then backed Cepeda as his successor.
About Abelardo de a Espriella
Born in the capital, Bogotá, but raised on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, De la Espriella rose to prominence as a criminal lawyer.
He represented the leaders of the paramilitaries, private armies created by right-wing landowners to fight left-wing guerrilla groups.
The 47-year-old later branched out into different businesses and amid showing off his lavish lifestyle on social media, he announced his presidential bid in July last year.
Latin America under the right-wing government
The election result has added one more country across Latin America that has sided with the far-right, after recent victories by Nasry Asfura in Honduras and José Antonio Kast in Chile.
All these candidates received support from President Trump after winning the first round.
Trump reacts to Abelardo de la Espriella's win
Addressing the news of Colombian's victory, Trump penned in a social media post, "He Won,BIG!"
In his victory speech in Barranquilla, on Colombia's Caribbean coast, De la Espriella vowed to respect the constitution.
"I want to speak especially to those who did not vote for me … Your rights, even if you did not vote for me, will be respected. Your opinions will be heard. You will never have to fear thinking differently," he said from behind bulletproof glass.
Abelardo de la Espriella urges close bond with the US
In a video posted by the US Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar after the result, De la Espriella said, "To solve Colombia's problems, we need to build a very close alliance with the US, which is not only our main trading partner but also our most important strategic ally in the fight against organised crime."
Latin America under the left-wing government
After Gustavo Petro leaves office in around six weeks, only Mexico; Brazil; which will hold elections in October; Uruguay; and Guatemala will remain under left-wing government in the region.
Gustavo Petro claims irregularities in the vote count
In a social media post, Petro alleged irregularities in the preliminary vote count released by the National Civil Registry, the independent public body responsible for organising Colombia's elections.
The 66-year-old also wrote that he would only recognise the outcome of the official scrutiny process, which is expected to take about two more days.
"No president can be declared yet. It is the scrutiny process that determines who the president is," he said.
After Petro, Cepeda also called out the alleged problems with the vote count and said that a team of lawyers was "proceeding to challenge 33,000 polling stations across the country".
Protests by Cepeda's supporters were seen in Cali, Colombia's third-largest city, with burnt US flags and intense clashes with police.
In the capital, Bogotá, hundreds gathered outside Corferias, the country's largest polling station against the election result.
Notably, the president-elect is expected to take office on August 7, 2026.
