Israel Accused of Meddling in Colombian Presidential Election Process

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has made allegations of digital manipulation affecting the results of a presidential run-off election. Preliminary results from Sunday’s election showed his handpicked candidate losing to far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella by a margin of less than 1 percent.

In a series of posts on social media platform X, President Petro claimed that foreign actors, including Israel and the United States, interfered with the electoral process. He alleged that opposition forces bought votes and that digital manipulation occurred on voting data forms, known as Form E-14.

Attorney General Gregorio Eljach has dismissed these allegations, stating that there is no evidence to support them. The National Registry, which manages vote numbers, released preliminary results showing de la Espriella winning with 49.66 percent of the vote, while Senator Ivan Cepeda received 48.7 percent.

The razor-thin margin between the two candidates represents one of Colombia’s closest elections. De la Espriella will take office on August 7 and has ties to the Trump administration. President Petro had campaigned on reforms that boosted social spending, raised the minimum wage, and redistributed land to poorer families during his time in office.

The allegations have sparked concerns about potential violence and tensions in the country. The first round of the presidential election was held on May 31, with neither candidate securing at least 50 percent of the vote, leading to a run-off between de la Espriella and Cepeda.

Source: Al Jazeera