Right-wing lawyer and businessman Abelardo de la Espriella has won Colombia's presidential runoff election, defeating left-wing senator Iván Cepeda in one of the country's closest contests in recent memory.

According to Antigua News Room, with nearly all ballots counted, De la Espriella secured just under 50 percent of the vote, finishing approximately 250,000 votes ahead of Cepeda. The result marks a return to conservative leadership in Colombia following four years under President Gustavo Petro, the country's first left-wing head of state.

A vocal admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump, De la Espriella celebrated the outcome as a turning point for the nation. He said he spoke with Trump shortly after the results were announced and pledged to strengthen ties with Washington.

The president-elect built his campaign heavily around security issues, promising a tougher stance against criminal organisations, expanded prison construction and increased military action targeting drug trafficking networks. His proposals stand in sharp contrast to Petro's approach of negotiating with armed groups in an effort to reduce violence.

Petro and Cepeda stopped short of conceding defeat, raising concerns about alleged irregularities in the preliminary vote count and calling for the completion of the official scrutiny process before recognising the result. Neither provided evidence to support claims of fraud.

The election unfolded against a backdrop of growing public anxiety over violence and insecurity. Armed groups and drug trafficking organisations continue to wield significant influence across parts of Colombia, despite the landmark 2016 peace agreement with the FARC guerrilla movement.

De la Espriella, who has never previously held elected office, is expected to be inaugurated on August 7. He will take the helm of a deeply polarised country and face a Congress in which his political allies do not hold a majority.

Political analysts say the result reflects a broader regional trend toward conservative and right-wing leadership across parts of Latin America, where concerns over security, economic pressures and dissatisfaction with incumbent governments have emerged as defining issues for voters.