Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to recognize the election victory of right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, claiming irregularities and accusing Israel of rigging the results. No evidence has been provided. De la Espriella won by a margin of about 250,000 votes, after more than 99% of the ballots were counted.
Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday refused to accept the election result, alleging without evidence that Israel manipulated the vote count — a claim he has escalated throughout the morning. The right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella won by approximately 250,000 votes out of over 25 million valid ballots, with more than 99% tallied. By 03:48 Jerusalem, Petro had already claimed a 49–49 tie and alleged that only Israel could have hacked election servers and altered IP addresses on the national civil registry; he has since refused to concede, saying he will defer to the courts.
As The Zioneer first reported at 03:48 Jerusalem, Petro's initial refusal to recognize the result cited unspecified Israeli interference. Within the same hour, he claimed to have evidence of IP-address manipulation on registry servers, attributed by the Israeli news outlet N12 to an analyst named Asaf Rozentzweig. Later reports by The Zioneer (07:28, 07:31, 08:22 Jerusalem) documented that international observers had not challenged the integrity of the vote, and that Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar had already congratulated de la Espriella and invited him to visit Israel — a sharp reversal from the strained relations under Petro.
Petro's unfounded accusation of Israeli interference follows a pattern of anti-Israel rhetoric. As The Zioneer reported on June 11, Petro posted "Heil Hitler" on social media and compared political opponents and Israel to the Nazis; Israeli officials condemned him at the time. De la Espriella has pledged to move Colombia's embassy to Jerusalem and restore diplomatic ties that Petro severed in 2024. Argentina's President Javier Milei also welcomed the result, underscoring a broader rightward political shift across South America.
No evidence has been publicly provided for Petro's claims, and no international observer has challenged the election's integrity. His refusal to concede risks prolonging a political crisis at the close of a divisive campaign.
6 developments
- StrongFM Sa'ar congratulates Colombia's de la Espriella on victory, invites him to Israel
- DevelopingPro-Israel candidate Abelardo de la Espriella wins Colombia presidency, pledges Jerusalem embassy move
- DevelopingFormer Colombian President Gaviria endorses de la Espriella, voices trust he will uphold the 1991 constitution
- DevelopingColombia's congressional disciplinary committee suspends President Petro pending election-interference probe
Source and signal
- Internal intake