Iván Cepeda Accepts Defeat and Acknowledges De la Espriella's Victory in Colombia
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
Bogotá – Leftist candidate Iván Cepeda acknowledged his defeat in the presidential elections held last Sunday in Colombia and accepted the victory of right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who received 12.9 million votes (49.78%) and won by less than one percentage point. Cepeda had announced he would deliver a special message during a live broadcast scheduled for 9:00 a.m. COT. 'I have decided to accept the result that arises from this process (vote recount) and which indicates that Abelardo de la Espriella is the new president of the Republic,' he stated. 'I announce that I will embark on a new journey' across Colombia. 'We will not leave the Colombian people alone,' he affirmed. 'Colombia has suffered too much,' he said. 'We will resist any attempt at authoritarian subjugation,' he indicated in his special message. On Tuesday, Colombia began the final phase of the counting process that declared the winner of the tight presidential runoff, in which, according to preliminary counts, conservative Abelardo de la Espriella received the majority of votes over progressive Iván Cepeda. The national counting is overseen by the National Electoral Council (CNE), which consolidates the records and addresses claims. Previously, judges conducted a 'first-level' count that, according to the Registrar's Office, matched the preliminary count with a 99.99% accuracy. CNE President Cristian Quiroz initiated the counting at an event center in Bogotá to 'provide total certainty and transparency to the citizens.'
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
