BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� Colombia’s outgoing President on Monday reiterated claims of fraud in the nation鈥檚 June election, which his party lost narrowly to conservative leader .
In an hourlong presentation to journalists, Petro claimed that results from thousands of tally sheets were manipulated by programmers after vote counts were transmitted to the headquarters of Colombia鈥檚 national registrar, the agency in charge of organizing the elections.
The accusations of fraud have been dismissed by international observers as well as electoral authorities in Colombia, which declared in late June that conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won the election, defeating Petro ally Ivan Cepeda by 250,000 votes. De la Espriella will begin a four-year term on Friday after he is sworn into office in a joint session of Congress.
Petro, a longtime critic of Colombia鈥檚 political establishment, has refused to acknowledge the results of the June presidential election. On Monday, the outgoing president accused electoral authorities of running an 鈥渙bscure鈥� election manipulated by foreign powers, and said that officials did not provide metadata for tally sheets that were scanned and posted on a public website, where citizens can check the results of every voting center in the country.
鈥淲e are facing a profound institutional problem,鈥� Petro said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 the inauguration of an illegitimate president.鈥�
Under Colombian law, there is little Petro can do to stop de la Espriella from being sworn into office this week because the conservative leader鈥檚 victory has already been certified by electoral judges.
However, analysts say that Petro鈥檚 claims of electoral fraud could undermine de la Espriella鈥檚 legitimacy among some voters and further .
Cepeda has said he will organize a against the incoming president, and will not acknowledge him as Colombia鈥檚 leader until de la Espriella meets several conditions that include renouncing his dual U.S. citizenship.
Petro, , earlier Monday also urged people in rural areas to form committees he described as 鈥渓iberation guards鈥� that could resist the actions of military detachments that, according to him, are allied with local mafia groups.
Andres Macias, a political-science professor at Colombia鈥檚 Externado University, said that Petro鈥檚 statements could help 鈥渏ustify the use of weapons by civilians鈥� in areas that have already been affected by conflicts between the Colombian military, drug traffickers and rebel groups.
Petro said Monday he feared being 鈥渆xtracted鈥� from Colombia after he steps down from office to become an opposition leader and continues to make claims that Colombia鈥檚 election was rigged.
鈥淚鈥檝e been told to behave well,鈥� Petro said. 鈥淏ut as a democrat I cannot accept this electoral fraud.鈥�
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