Iván Cepeda became the winner of the Historic Pact referendum. With 1,337,710 votes (64.95%), he defeated Carolina Corcho who obtained 597,243 (29.00%), according to the Registrar's 31st preview with 2,373,310 voters.
President Gustavo Petro commented on the result. “Democracy prevails and we must obey it. The people have freely chosen. And now it's up to Colombian society to decide, whether backward or forward,” the president stated.
At around 11:20 a.m., the senator approached the polling station at Colegio Luterano San Lucas to exercise his right to vote. However, he reported some incidents that were allegedly preventing people from voting.
"It's the first truly democratic act in which a political force directly elects its candidates for Congress and the Presidency," Cepeda emphasized.
The senator, like several members of the Historic Pact, has said that they recorded a large turnout in various parts of the country, so they asked for the voting to be extended for one more hour. The Registry decided to allow all citizens who registered before 4:00 p.m., the closing time of the polls, to vote.
"I note with concern the inconsistencies, irregularities, and limitations that have been imposed on the electoral organization to ensure that citizens' rights are exercised in the best possible way," the senator stated.
In addition, he said that 4,000 polling stations were moved to municipal areas in rural parts of the country.
Cepeda becomes the leader who will carry the flags of Petrismo to the next measurement, which will be in March 2026 in the consultation of the Frente Amplio , where he will have to compete against other candidates, among which would be Daniel Quintero, Roy Barreras, Clara López, among others.
This is the senator who raises the flag on the left in against the greatest political opponent, who is former president Álvaro Uribe, with whom the congressman of the Democratic Pole has had the most famous judicial case in the country. In any case, Cepeda has opened the door to speak with that sector if he becomes president.
Cepeda is one of the main leaders of the most traditional left in the country. He is the son of Manuel Cepeda, a former congressman from the Patriotic Union who was assassinated at the end of the last century. His mother, Yira Castro, was a leftist activist.
The senator has been closely involved in the peace processes that have taken place in the country in recent decades. He was close to the peace process with the FARC in Havana, for which he was heavily criticized by the opposition, and a member of the negotiating team for the negotiations being held during the Petro administration with the ELN.
Iván Cepeda finally entered the fray on Friday night, August 22, at a hotel in Pasto, where he confirmed that he would be a presidential candidate for the Historic Pact in the 2026 elections.
From the capital of Nariño, Cepeda made it clear that he will seek the presidency with the goal of maintaining Gustavo Petro's position."With the social movements, with women, with youth, with the people of the territories, I am embarking on this path toward a second government that consolidates change."
The main promoter of Cepeda's candidacy was President Gustavo Petro himself, as confirmed by SEMANA at the time with sources from the Casa de Nariño. Cepeda is in the president's heart, and he sees the congressman as a figure capable of uniting the multiple leftist strands that converge in the Historic Pact.
