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| Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Esprilla on speech |
Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Esprilla, suspended the transfer of power with outgoing president Gustavo Petro, accusing him of plotting a coup after he refused to recognize the election results.
Petro had stated on Monday that he does not recognize De La Esprilla's victory in the June 21 presidential runoff election, in which he defeated Senator Ivan Cepeda, the candidate of the coalition supported by Petro, claiming electoral fraud without providing evidence.
In contrast, De La Esprilla, a conservative politician backed by US President Donald Trump, accused Petro and Cepeda in a video posted Tuesday on social media of launching a plan "to cling to power at any cost" through a "coup" and by refusing to acknowledge the election results, without providing any evidence to support these accusations.
Petro did not immediately comment on the president-elect's remarks.
The president-elect made an explicit appeal to the army and the military establishment, saying: "As the president-elect, I call on the Colombian armed forces to respect their oath, protect the constitution and democracy, and disobey any orders issued by Petro that contradict this."
He also appealed to the international community to monitor the transfer of power, and urged his supporters to "resist" until his inauguration as president of the country on August 7.
The process of transferring power in Colombia is known as "Empalme," the stage during which the outgoing administration provides the president-elect with the necessary information to prepare for assuming office. This process has been marred by mutual accusations between the two political rivals, President Gustavo Petro and President-elect Abelardo de la Esprilla.
Colombian Finance Minister and Petro administration transition coordinator Germán Ávila instructed his team to suspend the handover of power, in response to de la Esprilla’s decision to suspend the transition process.
In a televised address, Avila criticized statements made by members of the president-elect's transition team, asserting that President Petro's team "has nothing to hide."
For his part, President-elect De La Esprilla said he would soon explain the reasons for his decision to suspend the transfer of power and would outline the steps he intends to take.
De la Esprilla, a businessman and lawyer whose investments include a fashion line and wine brands, has received the endorsement of US President Donald Trump despite never having run for political office before. He was declared the winner of the June 21 Colombian presidential runoff election, defeating progressive legislator Cepeda by one percentage point, or more than 251,000 votes.
This result effectively condemned the Petro government, whose policies Cepeda had pledged to continue, including largely failed efforts to establish a dialogue with multiple armed groups.
