Colombia national registrar says final count in presidential runoff is nearly identical to initial count

Colombia's presidential election results show a narrow victory for right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella, with a final count differing by just 0.003% from the initial count.

Colombia's ​national registrar on Tuesday ​said a final ‌count of ​votes in this weekend's presidential race differed in just 0.003% of ‌ballots from an initial count that gave right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella victory in the contest. De La Espriella was ‌less than 1% ahead of leftist Ivan Cepeda ‌in an initial vote count on Sunday, winning 49.6% of votes. Cepeda had said he would wait for a final verification ⁠of ​the count ⁠by electoral authorities before acknowledging the result. The results between the two counts ⁠match for 99.997% of votes, the registrar said in a ​statement on its website. "The preliminary vote count achieved ⁠high levels of accuracy," the statement said. "This result shows the adjustments ⁠were minimal ​and that the process of consolidating and releasing the results has been successful and unprecedented in ⁠Colombia's history." De La Espriella's win makes Colombia the latest country ⁠in Latin America ⁠to swing to the right, as concerns about crime motivate voters around the region ‌to ‌back politicians promising crackdowns.