Arévalo de León conveyed his congratulations to the elected president through a message on his official accounts, in which he highlighted the behavior of Colombian citizens during last Sunday’s election day.
“I greet the Colombian people for the peaceful and democratic exercise of the recent electoral process. To the president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, my best wishes in this new and important task,” said the president of the Central American country.
The Guatemalan president added in his message that “in Guatemala you have a partner and ally for the strengthening of democracy and the development of our people.”
Colombia is still awaiting the final results of Sunday’s presidential elections in which, according to the provisional count, De la Espriella won by a narrow margin, in a political turn that leaves the ruling left behind.
While the Foreign Ministry reported that the Government of Guatemala expressed its recognition to the people of Colombia for holding their elections, in which civic responsibility and respect for democracy were highlighted.
“Guatemala reaffirms its will to strengthen the work and cooperation that prevail between both nations,” he remarked.
The official candidate, Iván Cepeda, recognized this Wednesday the victory of the far-right candidate, who obtained 12.9 million votes (49.66%) compared to the 12.7 million (48.7%) he achieved as a representative of the Historical Pact, the current ruling party.
The acceptance of the results by the left-wing candidate occurs three days after the second presidential round and contributes to clearing up doubts about the outcome of elections marked by the narrowness of the result between the two candidates.