Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Photo: Colombian Presidential Office/File photo.
On Tuesday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that a lawsuit has been filed with the Council of State to request the annulment of the presidential election of far-right candidate Abelardo De la Espriella.
The outgoing head of state, in a message posted on his social media account, announced: “Here is the demand for the annulment of the 2026 presidential election.”
“Its technical language will be explained in videos that translate into popular communication,” Petro said.
Aquí se encuentra la demanda de nulidad de la elección presidencial del 2026.
Su lenguaje técnico será explicado en videos que traduzcan hacia la comunicación popular.
Es presentada por los "testigos digitales*, que en número de 70.000 ciudadanos y ciudadanas, lograron…
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) July 21, 2026
He stated that the lawsuit “is filed by ‘digital witnesses’, who number 70,000 citizens, who managed to discover, in the traces left by the metadata of documents uploaded to the internet by the electoral counting software, the algorithmic manipulation that occurred of the real vote of the Colombian citizens.”
Reports indicate that the lawsuit requests a recount of the votes cast abroad in the runoff election, held on June 21, due to the difference of 251,854 votes between De la Espriella and Iván Cepeda, who was the presidential candidate of the ruling coalition.
It also seeks to nullify the resolution and credentials issued by the National Electoral Council (CNE), through which they declared the far-right businessman the winner of the elections. His inauguration is scheduled for August 7.
President Gustavo Petro had already announced on Monday afternoon that he would publish the lawsuit filed with the Colombian justice system, in which he included what he described as evidence of electoral fraud during the latest elections.
Petro has repeatedly condemned what he considers a “soft coup” against him. The National Electoral Council investigated his 2022 campaign for alleged violations of spending limits, a process the president described as an attempt to remove him from power.
President-elect announces ambassador to Caracas
Meanwhile, De la Espriella announced on Monday that businessman Jorge Jaller will serve as Colombia’s top diplomat in Venezuela.
The announcement was made by De la Espriella during the Independence Day commemoration he led in Medellín and at the Toyo Tunnel in the department of Antioquia. He also announced that former senator Carlos Felipe Mejía will be the next ambassador to Spain.
Jaller enters diplomacy after a career spanning more than two decades in the private sector, primarily within Grupo Éxito, where he served as vice president of retail starting in 2022 and managed operations for the Éxito retail conglomerate and Carulla brands.
Colombia: Gustavo Petro Will Not Attend Abelardo de la Espriella’s Inauguration
During the presidential campaign, the businessman and attorney served on De la Espriella’s team of advisers, contributing his experience to the development of the administration’s platform.
(Telesur) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
