Colombian left candidate for the presidency, Iván Cepeda, delivers a speech accepting electoral defeat. Photo: Telesur.
The candidate of the Historical Pact for the presidency of Colombia, Iván Cepeda, announced his party’s acceptance of the results of the presidential election. However, he repudiated the interference of US President Donald Trump and the deployment of a dirty campaign by the right against him. Thus, the far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella becomes the new president, despite a pattern of fraud based on numerous irregularities.
In a message to the nation on Wednesday, June 24, Cepeda stated that accepting the electoral result does not mean renouncing the truth or remaining silent in the face of serious matters, and affirmed that his decision aims to contribute to “coexistence, peace, and dialogue,” as well as to respect democracy.
“We condemn the open and undue interference in Colombia’s internal affairs, particularly by President Donald Trump in favor of candidate De la Espriella, a campaign that carried out massive vote-buying and manipulation strategies,” said Cepeda, emphasizing that these practices undermine the legitimacy of the future government.
After an electoral contest resolved by a difference of less than one percent of the votes, Cepeda called his statement an act of democratic responsibility aimed at preserving coexistence and national peace, while highlighting that the 12,700,000 votes obtained by the Historical Pact and the Alliance for Life represent the highest vote ever achieved by popular and progressive sectors in the country’s republican history.
“We are a social and cultural political force present in every corner of the country,” added Cepeda, and emphasized that politics must be an exercise of dignity and coherence. He emphatically rejected the accusation that the electorate of the Historical Pact and the Alliance for Life has ties with the so-called “rifle vote,” a reference to voting under intimidation, which Cepeda called a denial of the people’s expression based on historical consciousness and electoral memory.
Despite the acceptance of the institutional verdict, the leftist leader firmly condemned the stigmatization of his electorate and defended the transparency of his political proposal, to which he refused mercantile concessions or unscrupulous pacts.
He denounced the disinformation campaigns, the threats, and the political spectacles promoted by the right-wing sectors that lack real proposals for collective well-being, pointing out that the loss of privileges generates fear in these groups, who try to halt progress in matters of social justice, eradication of hunger, and the dignification of childhood and adolescence.
Cepeda declared that progressive forces will exercise a democratic, vigilant, and unwavering opposition from the streets and the ground to ensure that the new government does not implement setbacks in human rights and public freedoms.
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He warned the incoming administration that the social majorities will not allow the dismantling of the popular achievements forged in the last four years, such as agrarian reform, pensions for the elderly, a living wage, and free higher education. He also announced that he will embark on a new journey throughout the country to consolidate a great alliance for life and to defend the country’s sovereignty against any model of authoritarian subjugation or plundering of natural resources.
Cepeda emphasized that the current government, led by Gustavo Petro, does not belong to a few elites, but rather constitutes a tool for democratic construction from the grassroots, closely associated with the peasantry, women, youth, and the diverse territorial identities of the country.
Likewise, he reaffirmed the unwavering commitment to accompany the processes of awareness, mobilization, and strengthening of popular movements in the streets to safeguard national sovereignty against attempts at destabilization. Cepeda concluded that his organization will continue to build a great alliance for life, peace, and democracy through direct dialog with society and absolute respect for diversity, preventing the plundering of collective wealth and the depredation of nature to consolidate an authentic majority in Colombia.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SH
