Petro claims Colombia election fraud, warns of civil war

Colombia's outgoing president Gustavo Petro said on August 3 that he had evidence of fraud in the presidential election and warned that president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella's rise to power could lead to "civil war."

Petro told a press conference that June's runoff involved what he called "algorithmic, systemic electoral fraud" affecting a large number of votes. He said the alleged fraud was orchestrated from abroad against his ally, Ivan Cepeda.

De la Espriella, 48, is due to be sworn in on Friday in Cali, breaking with the tradition of holding the inauguration in Bogota before Congress.

Petro said "foreign money and foreign companies with the capacity to manipulate algorithms" interfered in the electoral process. He also suggested that De la Espriella intends to extradite him to the United States on false charges, and said public rejection of those alleged plans could lead to civil war.

The left-wing bloc in Congress, led by Cepeda, said it would boycott De la Espriella's inauguration and called for a day of mobilisation against the new leader.

Before the election, De la Espriella received an endorsement from US President Donald Trump. Petro has accused Trump of interfering in Colombian politics.

De la Espriella has promised to promote private investment, reduce the size of the state by 40 percent and take a hard line against guerrillas and drug cartels. Colombia has faced its worst violence in a decade after Petro's attempts to negotiate peace with armed groups.