Outgoing chief renews allegations that Colombia’s electoral authorities and worldwide observers have rejected.
Printed On 4 Aug 2026
Colombia’s outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, has repeated allegations that June’s presidential election was rigged, rejecting the legitimacy of his right-wing successor, Abelardo de la Espriella.
Talking earlier than journalists in Bogota on Monday, the left-wing Petro claimed that programmers had altered 1000’s of tally sheets after counts have been transmitted to the nationwide election company.
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He alleged that the election was “obscure” and had been manipulated by overseas powers, and that metadata related to vote tallies was not made obtainable for evaluation.
Colombia’s electoral authorities and worldwide observers have rejected the fraud claims. Election officers declared in late June that de la Espriella, a conservative with a background in legislation, had defeated Petro’s ally Ivan Cepeda by 250,000 votes.
De la Espriella is because of be sworn in earlier than Congress on Friday. Some analysts say the allegations might weaken his standing with some voters and deepen Colombia’s political polarisation.
Petro, a former insurgent fighter who in 2022 grew to become the nation’s first socialist president, is barred from a second time period by the Colombian structure and has little capacity to cease the transition of energy after electoral judges licensed the outcomes.
“We face a profound institutional drawback,” Petro mentioned. “And it’s the inauguration of an illegitimate president.”
Feud with Washington
Petro’s ultimate months in workplace have been marked by repeated clashes with US President Donald Trump, whose administration has courted Latin America’s proper and pressured its left-wing governments.
In October, Trump referred to as Petro an “illegal drug leader” and introduced an finish to US funds to Colombia. Petro hit again by saying Trump was “impolite and ignorant about Colombia”.
In January, after US forces kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Trump was requested whether or not he would order a navy operation against Colombia. The US president responded, “Sounds good to me.”
Weeks later, US prosecutors began a probe into potential hyperlinks between Petro and drug traffickers in the midst of his 2022 presidential marketing campaign.
Petro mentioned on Monday that he fears being “extracted” from Colombia as soon as he turns into an opposition chief. He has referred to as for protests and for rural areas to kind “liberation guards”.
“I’ve been informed to behave effectively,” Petro mentioned. “However as a democrat, I can’t settle for this electoral fraud.”
Andres Macias, a professor of political science at Externado College, mentioned the decision might “justify using weapons by civilians” in areas already impacted by conflicts between the navy, drug traffickers and insurgent teams.
