De La Espriella Urges ‘Renewing Politics at the Ballot Box’ in Colombia’s Elections

Written on 03/08/2026
Josep Freixes
Colombian right-wing presidential candidate AbeDe la Espriella called for transforming the country through the ballot box after casting his vote. Credit: Tittoqr, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The right-wing presidential candidate of Colombia, Abelardo de La Espriella, called on citizens this Sunday to go to the polls to “renew politics” during the legislative election day being held across the country. The presidential hopeful said the electoral process represents an opportunity for Colombians to promote changes in public life through the vote.

At the start of the day, the lawyer and businessman stated that political transformation must begin with citizen participation. In his message, he insisted that suffrage is the main tool for citizens to express their dissatisfaction with traditional political practices and to support new alternatives in the legislative branch.

De La Espriella called for ‘renewing politics at the ballot box’ in today’s elections in Colombia

Through his social media accounts and public statements at the beginning of the electoral day, De La Espriella said that true political renewal begins at the ballot box. According to the candidate, the legislative elections constitute the first step toward building a new political scenario in Colombia.

The presidential hopeful emphasized that the country is going through a decisive moment and that citizens have in their hands the possibility of promoting profound changes in the institutions. In that sense, he noted that massive participation at the polls is essential to strengthen democracy and legitimize the decisions that will shape the country’s course in the coming years.

“Today, at the ballot box, true renewal begins: Today, we begin the transformation of Colombia into the Miracle Homeland, that Colombia dreamed of by all of us, the one that will rise as a nation admired by the entire world, with health, equality, justice, and opportunities for every child of this sacred land,” he wrote in the morning on his account on the social media platform X.

De La Espriella also highlighted that voting is a mechanism for Colombians to express their rejection of practices that, he said, have generated distrust in politics. In his view, the outcome of these legislative elections could open the door to a different stage in the relationship between citizens and their representatives.

Congress as the starting point

This Sunday’s legislative elections will determine the composition of Congress for the 2026–2030 term. On this day, citizens are called to elect the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which will determine the balance of political forces in the legislative branch over the next four years.

For De La Espriella, the new Congress will be key in the process of political change he proposes in his presidential project. The candidate has insisted that a renewal in the legislative branch would make it possible to open the debate on institutional and economic reforms that, he argues, are necessary for the country.

In his statements, the candidate also emphasized that political transformation does not depend solely on the candidates but on the decision of citizens to participate actively in the elections. For this reason, he reiterated his call to go to the polls and exercise the right to vote.

The opposition candidate voted around 11 in the morning and hopes that the party that openly supports him from Congress, the far-right National Salvation movement, will obtain a good result to have a minimum base from which to build parliamentary majorities, in the event of a victory in the presidential elections in May and June.