Supporters of the candidate from the ruling leftist “Historical Pact” Ivan Cepeda gathered at the Corferias exhibition center in Bogota, where the official counting of votes in the presidential election is taking place, demanding that the results of each polling station be carefully checked.
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“We will be here defending every vote. Any violation that we see will be challenged and appealed, but everything is within the law, because we continue to believe in institutions,” Laura Daniela Beltran Palomares, an elected deputy from the Historical Pact said.
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According to her, the action at Corferias arose spontaneously and was not organized by the candidate’s headquarters. Cepeda’s supporters gathered after the publication of preliminary calculations, according to which the candidate of the right forces, Abelardo de la Espriella, is ahead of his opponent by less than one percentage point.
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Beltran called on supporters to remain calm and use the mechanisms provided by law.
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“We ask people to remain calm, to continue to mobilize with the same spirit that accompanied the entire campaign, but to do it peacefully,” she said.
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Lawyer Juan Sebastian Sandoval Barrera, representing the team of Senator from the Green Alliance party Alejandro Avila, said that observers and lawyers check the compliance of the data in the protocols with the results transmitted to the preliminary counting system.
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“Today we are checking site by site whether there were any errors in the transmission of data and filling out forms C-14, which could affect the final result,” he said.
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According to Sandoval, lawyers intend to challenge the results at sites where inconsistencies are found – errors in calculations, unjustified corrections or lack of explanations for changes in protocols. He added that the main difficulties arise in remote regions of the country, where the digitalization of the electoral process is less developed and it is more difficult to ensure the presence of observers.
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According to the preliminary vote count, after processing more than 99% of the ballots, de la Espriella wins about 49.7% of the votes, and Cepeda – about 48.7%. Cepeda said he would wait for the official results of the vote, stressing that the preliminary results are not legally binding. Colombian President Gustavo Petro also urged not to announce the winner until the official vote count is completed.
