Historic Pact leader rejects threats from far-right candidate De la Espriella.
On Monday, Ivan Cepeda, the candidate of the Historic Pact, held a press conference to state his position regarding the results of the presidential elections that took place on June 21.
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More specifically, he addressed the status of the official vote count, called on citizens to remain calm and responded to several statements made by far-right presidential candidate Bernardo de la Espriella.
On the Vote Count
Cepeda began by saying that the presidential election results showed an extremely narrow margin of less than 1%, the smallest difference in the history of presidential runoffs in Colombia.
“Once the preliminary count was completed, we respected it and acknowledged it as such. It is not a final or legally binding result,” he said, referring to what Colombian law stipulates.
To obtain the legally and legitimately binding results, Cepeda called for waiting until electoral authorities complete their review of all vote challenges.
“Our poll watchers and legal teams have filed 57,189 challenges, which authorize and require election officials and judges to verify those claims,” he said, warning that the official count could take several days because of the counting of overseas ballots.
Cepeda, however, emphasized that the Historic Pact has requested that the final official count be conducted on the basis of physical evidence, meaning that every ballot should be counted rather than relying solely on the totals recorded in the tally sheets.
“We are exercising the right granted to us by law, which is to wait for the outcome of the official count. Once everything has been verified, we will announce our recognition of the result,” he said.
A Call for Calm Across the Political Spectrum
Emphasizing once again the narrow margin separating the two candidates, Cepeda called on all Colombians to calmly await the official results.
“There is anxiety to know the final result. However, as a candidate, I cordially call for serenity and calm. If there are public expressions in favor of one position or another, these should be carried out as peaceful demonstrations,” he said, clarifying that the Historic Pact is not calling for any mobilizations.
“I call on my supporters and members of the Historic Pact and the Alliance for Life to maintain exemplary behavior. I also ask the same of those who voted for another candidate.”
De la Espriella’s Threats Are Inadmissible
On Sunday night, De la Espriella did not wait for the official results to be proclaimed and declared himself Colombian president during a speech before his supporters, in which the far-right politician displayed contradictory and aggressive attitudes despite his repeated references to “democracy.”
“He delivered an absolutely ambiguous speech. On the one hand, he said he would be respectful and would provide guarantees to his opponents. Immediately afterward, however, he said other things that deserve a response,” Cepeda said, referring to the threats De la Espriella made while supposedly calling for unity and reconciliation among all Colombians.
“He told President Gustavo Petro and me to pack our bags. I don’t know what for. We have no reason to leave the country. Then, raising his voice, he said that ‘the tiger bites hard and can bite even harder’,” the Historic Pact candidate recalled.
“He should not threaten us. We are a very large political movement; we represent half of this country. We have a long history of resistance, and we are battle-hardened. We have defeated many authoritarian governments. We are not intimidated by his roars or his shouting,” he stressed, clarifying that the Colombian left does not seek confrontation.
“On Sunday, we made a clear offer: a national agreement and dialogue. In a country that is clearly divided, it is foolish to try to impose ideas, decisions, or measures on one’s opponents,” Cepeda said, referring to the far-right candidate’s aggressive style.
“We hope that our generous and democratic offer of dialogue will not be met with threats. We will not tolerate humiliation, shouting or impositions from someone who believes he has reached the pinnacle of power,” he stressed.
“Yesterday, we achieved a very significant result. We received 1 million more votes than in the first round. We are the largest parliamentary bloc. We have active and organized social movements throughout the country. We are the ones driving change in Colombia,” Cepeda concluded.
#Colombia | President Gustavo Petro announces he won’t run in any other election after he leaves office, to the winner of the presidential runoff.
Colombian citizens vote in a polarized presidential runoff that could reshape the fragile peace process and relations with the… pic.twitter.com/ztk8jYgGIL
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