Colombian President Gustavo Petro Requests Election Cancellation

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has requested the cancellation of the 2026 presidential election due to allegations of irregularities. Petro has filed a petition with the judiciary to have the election results nullified. Petro criticized the winning candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella, in a statement on social media, sharing the petition document for the election's cancellation. The petition was prepared by a group of around 70,000 people who call themselves 'digital witnesses'. According to Petro, the allegations of vote manipulation are based on findings in the metadata of documents uploaded by the election software. The Colombian National Election Council had officially declared Abelardo de la Espriella as the new president. Espriella is expected to take office on August 7, succeeding current President Gustavo Petro. The 47-year-old lawyer and businessman, known for his closeness to former US President Donald Trump, won the second round of elections with 49.66% of the vote, while the ruling Historic Pact coalition candidate Ivan Cepeda received 48.70%.