Colombia: de la Espriella leads in first round, Cepeda contests result

Milan, 1 June (LaPresse/Ap) – Aberaldo de la Espriella, an outsider known for his hard line against crime, took the lead in the Colombian presidential race in Sunday evening’s first round of voting, paving the way for a run-off with Ivan Cepeda, an ally of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, who has cast doubt on the election results. As no candidate secured an absolute majority of the votes, a second round will be held in June. Cepeda and Petro have cast doubt on the first-round results, claiming without evidence that hundreds of thousands of votes were rigged and that foreign actors influenced the election outcome. Cepeda has stated that he will wait for the electoral authorities to review the results before accepting them.