The leftist candidate Ivan Cepeda conceded defeat in Colombia’s presidential election ahead of the end of the formal vote count.

At a press conference, Cepeda said he accepted the results of the formal count that changed little to the preliminary count that was announced on Sunday.

I have decided to accept the result of that process, which designates Abelardo de la Espriella as the new president of the Republic.

Ivan Cepeda

Cepeda, who will be granted a Senate seat, confirmed that he will lead the opposition to De la Espriella from congress.

“I am doing this as an act of democratic responsibility. I am doing this to contribute to harmony, peace, and dialogue among Colombians,” said the former candidate.

Cepeda denounced the “open and undue foreign interference” in the election process, “particularly the actions taken by the U.S. government, and in particular those of President Donald Trump.”

The former candidate also confirmed accusation made by his allies about the “massive vote-buying operation intended to undermine the free expression of the will of the people” and De la Espriella’s employment of “sophisticated manipulation strategies using artificial intelligence technologies.”

We do not accept these practices that have undermined the transparency of this process and call into question the legitimacy of the new government. We will, of course, continue to shed light on these events.

Ivan Cepeda

According to Cepeda, his own campaign had been “totally clean, transparent and respectful” and “made no concessions to politics turned into a spectacle, nor to unscrupulous alliances, nor to the buying of votes, nor to practices that undermine democracy and debase the will of the people.”

The left will take a lead in the congressional opposition and “if necessary, resistance and peaceful civil disobedience” against the counter revolution announced by the far-right president-elect.