THE left-wing candidate for the presidency of Colombia on Wednesday accepted the result of last Sunday’s poll and acknowledged the razor-thin victory of far-right politician Bernardo de la Espriella.

In a live address to the Colombian people on Wednesday, Ivan Cepeda, the Historic Pact candidate, acknowledged that Mr la Espriella won the election by less than 1 per cent of the valid votes.

Mr Cepeda said: “I do so as an act of democratic responsibility and a contribution to peace, because we deeply believe in democracy and that political differences should be resolved through citizen participation and respect for institutions.”

Despite this electoral setback, the Historical Pact has consolidated itself as the most organised political force in Colombia and will hold the largest bloc in Congress during the 2026-2030 presidential term.

The newspaper El Pais noted that Mr Cepeda will “lead the opposition from the Senate seat that Colombian law guarantees to the presidential finalist.”

Mr Cepeda said he and his supporters “will not accept the violation of public freedoms, the stigmatisation of social movements, or the attempt to treat youth and organised citizens as internal enemies.

“We will resist any attempt at authoritarian subjugation and travel throughout the country to consolidate an alliance in defence of democracy, social rights, sovereignty and nature.”

Mr Cepeda also said that there would be “firm opposition to the new government while remaining open to potential agreements if dialogue, mutual respect, and the common good are prioritised,” and that they would “resist any attempt at authoritarian subjugation.” 

“We warn the new government: we will not allow any austerity policies that threaten the social transformations achieved by the Colombian people,” he said.

This came a day after Mr de la Espriella announced plans to add Colombia to the Trump-dubbed Shield of the Americas, a coalition of far-right countries.