Abelardo “El Tigre” de la Espriella wins the pre-count at 100% (49.66%): CNE has not yet proclaimed president-elect

Abelardo de la Espriella, known as «El Tigre», won the pre-count of the Colombian presidential second round on June 21, 2026. With 100% of the tables informed, according to Infobae, the lawyer for Defensores de la Patria adds 12,959,542 votes (49.66%) compared to the 12,708,712 (48.70%) of Senator Iván Cepeda (250,830 advantage votes, less than one point). De la Espriella celebrated in Barranquilla, but the National Electoral Council (CNE) has not yet proclaimed the president-elect: only the official scrutiny of judges and magistrates has binding legal value.

«I will obey the judges as the law and the Constitution say. Everything that occurs before the judges' decision is valid as information, but what is binding is the judge."

What the pre-count says (and what it doesn't)

The National Registry of Civil Status publishes pre-count bulletins as of the closing of polls (4:00 p.m. local time). These data come from the quick table count (form E-14) and are informative in nature, with no binding legal value, according to El Espectador and the registrar himself Hernán Penagos. The final result is determined by the scrutinizing commissions, made up of judges and notaries, in a process that can take days.

Infobae reported partial figures during Sunday night; At the close of the pre-count at 100% the final advantage was 250,830 votes. The trend in favor of "El Tigre" remained stable since the third bulletin, although Cepeda recovered ground in late tables abroad and in rural areas.

How many people voted

41,421,973 Colombians were authorized to vote, inside and outside the country, according to the Registry cited by El País. In the first round on May 31 23,978,304 people (57.88%) voted, with 23,685,329 valid votes, according to the official portal colombia.com.

In the second round 26,345,364 citizens (63.60% of the census) voted, with 26,095,102 valid votes and 426,848 blank votes, according to the closed pre-count cited by Infobae —several points above the first round (57.88%).

The day took place with 122,020 tables installed, more than 860,000 jurors and more than 350,000 campaign witnesses, according to Penagos cited by El Nacional. The OAS highlighted a day without serious incidents or formal complaints. The Ministry of the Interior reported more than 2,600 complaints for electoral crimes, with 34 arrests, according to El País.

Update: scrutiny in progress, without CNE proclamation

Updated on June 22, 2026. The pre-count closed at 100%, but the official scrutiny – minute-by-minute review by judges, notaries and the CNE— began on Monday, June 22, according to CNN in Spanish and RTVE. The CNE has not issued the declaration of election. Cristian Quiroz, president of the CNE, asked to "wait for the scrutiny so as not to generate friction" (Proceso).

«No one can proclaim himself president. It is the vote that determines who is the president. "I obey the judges."

Cepeda recognized the pre-count but announced the challenge of 33,000 tables (~27% of the total) and said that he will recognize the result "once the final scrutiny takes place" (Proceso). In the first round, the CNE took four days to close the vote; Media such as Pulzo point to a possible declaration before the end of the week if there are no complaints that alter the result.

Why there is still no official verdict

In Colombia, as in other democracies in the region, the pre-count allows us to know a trend almost in real time, but it does not proclaim an elected president. The outgoing president Gustavo Petro, who voted for Cepeda, insisted that he would only abide by the judges' scrutiny and denounced "irregularities" before the polls closed. Cepeda, for his part, said that he will acknowledge the result but will exercise "scrupulous observation" of the pre-count and scrutiny, according to El País.

In the first round, the coincidence between pre-counting and official scrutiny was 99.94%, recalled El Colombian. If this trend is repeated, De la Espriella would be Petro's successor in the Casa de Nariño for the five-year period 2026-2030, with inauguration on August 7, 2026 and José Manuel Restrepo as vice president.

Who is Abelardo «El Tigre» de la Espriella

Born in Bogotá in 1978 and raised in Montería, De la Espriella went from criminal lawyer and businessman to political leader in less than a year. He founded Defensores de la Patria in July 2025 and won the first round with a speech of a strong hand, security and opposition to the Petro project. Known as "El Tigre" among his followers, he reached the second round with the public support of Donald Trump and figures such as congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, while Cepeda had the support of the ruling party and the former mayor Claudia López.

This Sunday he voted in Barranquilla wearing a Colombian national team shirt and published in X: «Today the most important game in Colombia is played». If the count confirms what the pre-count shows, Colombia will take a turn to the right after four years of progressive government — but until the judges close the count, the victory of “El Tigre” remains virtual, not proclaimed.