Outgoing chief renews allegations that Colombia’s electoral authorities and worldwide observers have rejected.
Revealed 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 hundreds of tally sheets after counts had 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 out there for assessment.
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 may 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 skill to cease the transition of energy after electoral judges licensed the outcomes.
“We face a profound institutional downside,” Petro stated. “And it’s the inauguration of an illegitimate president.”
Feud with Washington
Petro’s remaining months in workplace had 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 known 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 middle of his 2022 presidential marketing campaign.
Petro stated on Monday that he fears being “extracted” from Colombia as soon as he turns into an opposition chief. He has known as for protests and for rural areas to type “liberation guards”.
“I’ve been instructed to behave effectively,” Petro stated. “However as a democrat, I can’t settle for this electoral fraud.”
Andres Macias, a professor of political science at Externado College, stated the decision may “justify the usage of weapons by civilians” in areas already impacted by conflicts between the navy, drug traffickers and insurgent teams.
