Colombia’s President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella has suspended the transition process with incumbent President Gustavo Petro, accusing him of a coup attempt to stay in power, following Petro’s refusal to recognize recent election results.
President Petro stated Monday he would not recognize de la Espriella’s June 21 run-off victory against his coalition's candidate, Senator Iván Cepeda, alleging fraud without providing evidence.
The conservative de la Espriella, endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump, posted a video Tuesday accusing Petro and Cepeda of a plan to "cling to power at all costs" via "a coup d’état" by rejecting his win. He provided no evidence, and Petro has not yet responded.
"As president-elect, I call on Colombia’s armed forces to honor their oath to protect the Constitution and democracy and to disobey any orders from Petro to the contrary," de la Espriella declared.
He urged the international community to monitor the power transfer and called on supporters to "resist" until his August 7 inauguration.
Germán Ávila, Colombia’s finance minister and Petro’s transition coordinator, ordered his team to suspend the handover in response. Ávila criticized de la Espriella’s team, asserting Petro’s team had "nothing to hide."
De la Espriella, a lawyer and businessman, secured U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement despite no prior office.
He won the June 21 runoff, defeating progressive lawmaker Cepeda by one percentage point, over 251,000 votes.
This result was seen as an indictment of Petro’s government, whose policies Cepeda promised to continue, including a failed effort to establish dialogue with armed groups.
Following the runoff, a European Union observer mission praised the transparency and efficiency of the vote-counting.
The Carter Center called the results management system "reliable, transparent and fully traceable."
Amidst the political tension, de la Espriella announced six more Cabinet appointments Tuesday, adding to those for defense, interior, finance, and environment.
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