Bogotá. The Colombian leftist presidential candidate Iván Cepeda asserted this Thursday that his rival, the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella, represents a threat to democracy, and called for building an agreement with the political center and reformist sectors ahead of the runoff on June 21st.
“The political project represented by the far-right today, led by its candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, constitutes a threat to the democratic foundations of our nation”, stated Cepeda in a video message released on social media.
Cepeda asserted that his rival represents “the destruction of the social rule of law” and warned about risks to initiatives such as agrarian reform, the pension system, public education, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), and reparation programs for victims of the armed conflict.
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In search of a “Great National Agreement”
In the same message, Cepeda celebrated the decision of the National Constituent Assembly’s promoting committee to suspend the collection of signatures to promote that initiative and to join, instead, in the construction of a “Great National Agreement”, proposed by him, which allows for the materialization of the social reforms promoted by President Gustavo Petro’s government.
“It is the time for unity and consensus, the time for meeting with the political center, democratic liberalism, and reformist sectors,” he stated.
In last Sunday’s first presidential round, De la Espriella, from the Defenders of the Homeland movement, obtained 10,366,143 votes (43.74%), while Cepeda secured 9,703,921 votes (40.90%), according to consolidated data released this Thursday by the National Electoral Council (CNE).
Both will face each other in the runoff on June 21st, in which Colombians will elect Petro’s successor for the 2026-2030 term.
