Colombia’s National Electoral Council (CNE) formally declared right-wing businessman Abelardo de la Espriella president-elect on Wednesday, after the final vote count confirmed his victory in the tightest presidential runoff in the country’s modern history. The official scrutiny, which matched the preliminary tally by 99.997%, gave de la Espriella 12.96 million votes to the 12.71 million won by left-wing senator Iván Cepeda — a margin of just over 251,000 ballots. Cepeda conceded earlier that day, three days after the vote, describing his decision as “an act of democratic responsibility” to foster coexistence and dialogue, while simultaneously denouncing what he called “open and improper foreign interference” by US President Donald Trump and alleging a campaign of vote-buying and artificial-intelligence manipulation by his opponent.

The concession came after outgoing President Gustavo Petro, a close ally of Cepeda, had initially refused to accept the preliminary results and raised the possibility of annulling the election, citing Trump’s public endorsement of de la Espriella. Petro later announced the start of a transition process without explicitly recognising the outcome. De la Espriella’s office called Cepeda’s concession “positive” and pledged to guarantee the right to political opposition and peaceful protest. The president-elect, a 47-year-old lawyer and entrepreneur who has never held public office, campaigned on a hardline security platform inspired by El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, promising mega-prisons, a resumption of aerial coca fumigation, and Colombia’s entry into the US-led “Shield of the Americas” coalition against organised crime.

Viewed from Washington, the result was welcomed by Trump, who claimed his support had propelled de la Espriella from a distant contender to an easy winner. The European Union’s observer mission reported no irregularities, while governments in Uruguay, Bolivia and Spain extended congratulations. In Mexico, the ruling Morena party expressed solidarity with Cepeda and called for a vote-by-vote recount, citing the narrow margin and warning of a “dangerous advance” of the far right in Latin America. The election leaves Colombia deeply polarised: Cepeda and his running mate accepted opposition seats in Congress, where the left-wing Pacto Histórico will be the largest single bloc, while de la Espriella must assemble a governing coalition from traditional right-wing parties, including the uribista Democratic Centre, which has already declared itself a government party.

The transition marks a sharp policy turn after four years of Petro’s leftist administration. De la Espriella has signalled a shift away from Petro’s “total peace” negotiations with armed groups and his moratorium on new fossil-fuel exploration, raising concerns among environmental advocates about the future of the Amazon, nearly 40% of which lies within Colombian territory. Cepeda vowed to lead a “democratic, vigilant and constructive opposition” and warned of civil disobedience if public freedoms are curtailed. De la Espriella is to be sworn in on 7 August, with the formal handover of credentials scheduled for Thursday and cabinet appointments expected in the coming days.