Gustavo Petro became the first left-wing president in the history of Colombia on Sunday, with 50.47% of the vote, according to official results covering 99% of the ballots counted.
“Today is a day of celebration for the people. Let him celebrate the first popular victory, ”celebrated the senator and ex-guerrilla on Twitter.
His opponent, the millionaire Rodolfo Hernandez, won 47.27% of the vote, a difference of nearly 700,000 votes, indicate these results published by the National Register, in charge of organizing the ballot.
“Today, the majority of citizens have chosen the other candidate. […] I accept the result as it is, ”said Mr. Hernandez shortly after, in a live on Facebook from his home.
“I wish Dr. Gustavo Petro that he knows how to run the country and that he is faithful to his speech against corruption. Thank you very much to all Colombians for accepting my proposal, even though we lost,” he concluded with a defeated face.
“I called @PetroGustavo to congratulate him as the elected president of the Colombian people”, also announced on Twitter the outgoing conservative president, Ivan Duque.
“We have agreed to meet in the coming days to begin a smooth, institutional and transparent transition,” he added.
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