Presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella launched one of his strongest statements since the first round of elections when responding to President Gustavo Petro’s questions about the results of the elections held on May 31.
During an interview with a journalist from Week Magazinethe candidate assured that he does not plan to moderate the tone of his criticism of the president because he believes that the head of state is trying to ignore the popular will expressed at the polls.
De la Espriella affirmed that the accusations of fraud promoted by Petro lack basis and are part of a political strategy aimed at generating uncertainty about the legitimacy of the electoral process.
The candidate maintained that both he and his campaign deployed extensive surveillance during voting day and that they found no irregularities that would allow the preliminary results to be questioned.
As he explained, the electoral bodies adequately carried out their work and the transparency of the process was supported by national and international observers. For this reason, he insisted that the complaints about alleged fraud are due to political interests and not to verifiable facts, according to the statements given during the interview with Week Magazine.
During his speech, De la Espriella publicly congratulated the national registrar and the entire electoral organization for the conduct of the elections.
The candidate stated that the elections were carried out appropriately and pointed out that the only worrying situations were recorded in regions where there is a presence of illegal armed groups. According to him, in some remote territories of the country there has been pressure against citizens to influence their voting decision.
However, he clarified that these situations do not compromise the work of the Registry nor alter the general legitimacy of the electoral process. In his opinion, security problems in certain areas respond to phenomena associated with the presence of criminal organizations and not to institutional failures.
De la Espriella also highlighted the participation of international electoral observation missions and stated that they supported the transparency of the democratic day.
Within these references he mentioned the presence of delegations from Europe and the United States, whose members, he assured, validated the normality of the Colombian electoral process.
The presidential candidate raised the tone of his questions against President Gustavo Petro and Iván Cepeda, whom he accused of trying to ignore the institutional order.
De la Espriella maintained that the fraud complaints are part of a strategy aimed at sowing doubts among citizens to generate an environment of political confrontation. In that sense, he stated that the president would be promoting a narrative that seeks to delegitimize the electoral results.
Likewise, he assured that sectors related to the Government have already begun to mobilize in the streets as part of a previously designed strategy to question the elections and increase political pressure during the period prior to the second presidential round.
The candidate insisted that Colombian institutions must act firmly to preserve the constitutional order and guarantee that the decision made by citizens at the polls is respected.
One of the most compelling moments of the interview occurred when De la Espriella explained why he considers it necessary to maintain a tough speech in front of the president and those who support his complaints.
The candidate indicated that he is not willing to use conciliatory language when, in his opinion, there is a risk of attempts to ignore democratic institutions.
“The good manners of the Tiger are for hard-working and decent people; with the bandits, an iron fist and strong language as appropriate,” he expressed during the conversation.
He also assured that, in the event of attempts to alter the constitutional order, State institutions have legal mechanisms to preserve democracy and guarantee compliance with the Constitution.
Finally, De la Espriella reiterated that he will continue to defend the legitimacy of the elections and maintained that his priority will be to protect the result expressed by millions of Colombians at the polls, while preparing for the second presidential round that will define who will occupy the House of Nariño for the next four years.
