Colombian Presidential Runoff Confirmed For June 21 According Preliminary Vote-counting
Iván Cepeda and Abelardo De la Espriella will compete in the second round of the Presidency of Colombia on June 21, after being the most voted in the first round held this Sunday. Photo: EFE.
May 31, 2026 Hour: 7:44 pm
🔗 Comparte este artículo
Colombia’s National Registry confirmed on May 31 a presidential runoff between progressive senator Iván Cepeda and right-wing lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella after both candidates captured over 80% of the valid votes.
The electoral process held this Sunday concluded without any candidate surpassing the constitutional threshold of 50%+1 of the valid votes, activating the constitutional mechanism for a second round.
According to the National Registry, the progressive candidate of the Historic Pact, Iván Cepeda, and the right-wing candidate of the Homeland’s Defenders movement, Abelardo De la Espriella, accumulated more than 80% of the total valid votes.
RELATED: Colombian Polls Close to Start Presidential Vote Scrutiny
The data from Bulletin 11 had already indicated a highly polarized scenario. Abelardo De la Espriella obtained 10,118,924 votes, representing 43.77% of the total, while Iván Cepeda registered 9,451,732 votes, equivalent to 40.88%.
The third force, led by right-wing candidate Paloma Valencia from the Democratic Center party, finished far behind with 1,632,167 votes, which represents 6.92%. This distribution of votes consolidates a direct confrontation between two opposing political models.
The fourth position was occupied by the centrist formula led by Sergio Fajardo – Edna Bonilla,with the 4.20% of the votes. The remaining nine candidates did not exceed 1% of the valid votes.
The National Registry of Colombia reported a 57.41% turnout, which translates to 23,781,038 voters who went to exercise their right to vote. Authorities alleged that the preliminary counting proceeded with “high speed and transparency“, but the final consolidation of the votes will be officially certified by the scrutiny commissions and the National Electoral Council.
Next Steps Until Runoff
The second round of the presidential elections is scheduled for June 21, when the formula of the Historical Pact, formed by Iván Cepeda and Aída Quilcué, will be measured against the Homeland’s Defenders party, composed of Abelardo De la Espriella and José Manuel Restrepo.
On that date, more than 40 million eligible Colombian voters will decide by simple majority the future administration for the 2026-2030 constitutional period to succeed President Gustavo Petro Government.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez reported that the state security forces will remain mobilized to guarantee peace. During today’s journey, the National Government deployed 408,000 members of the public forces to protect the 13,489 polling stations.
Electoral authorities highlighted that 397,000 national and international actors supervised the transparency of the vote today. This group included 1,300 international observers who verified the proper operation of the 118,346 voting tables.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the 3,700 voting tables in 116 consulates across 60 countries will be enabled again for the runoff, ensuring that Colombians residing abroad can participate in the second round.
For his part, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced via social media his refusal to recognize the preliminary results of the presidential elections carried out by a private contractor (Thomas Greg & Sons), assuring that the only valid results will be those issued by the competent authorities during the process of scrutiny.
Colombia currently has two distinct censuses: the authorized state registry and the database utilized by the private company, which allegedly permitted the artificial addition of hundreds of thousands of non-existent votes.
“Therefore, and in accordance with the law, the binding results that the President will observe and accept are those of the scrutinizing commissions directed by the judges of the Republic”, Petro asserted.
In this sense, the presidential candidate Iván Cepeda assured that there are doubts that should be reviewed by the electoral authorities during the counting process, indicating that he will wait for the results of the scrutinizing committees before taking a final position on the official outcome of the first round.
Under Colombian legislation, the initial preliminary count serves as an informative tool, while the official judicial scrutiny consolidates the definitive and legally binding results of the election.
Author: Laura V. Mor
Source: Agencies
