Colombia's left-wing candidate Cepeda concedes to De la Espriella in presidential election
Colombia's left-wing candidate Ivan Cepeda on Wednesday conceded electoral defeat to right-wing rival Abelardo de la Espriella after Sunday's second-round presidential vote.
By FRANCE 24
Election results showed de la Espriella, a businessman and lawyer who had never run for office, defeated progressive lawmaker Iván Cepeda by 1 percentage point, or nearly 251,000 votes.
Read moreWill Colombia's right-wing hardliner De la Espriella be able to govern?
The result effectively was an indictment of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s government, whose policies Cepeda had promised to continue, including a largely failed effort to establish dialogue with multiple armed groups.
Electoral authorities published all but a fraction of the vote count hours after polls closed Sunday. Petro and Cepeda did not accept those results, with the latter saying he would wait for a recount to do so.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)