BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's outgoing President Gustavo Petro on Monday reiterated claims of fraud in the nation’s June election, which his party lost narrowly to conservative leader Abelardo de la Espriella.
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’s 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’s political establishment, has refused to acknowledge the results of the June presidential election. On Monday, the outgoing president accused electoral authorities of running an “obscure” 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.
“We are facing a profound institutional problem,” Petro said. “And it’s the inauguration of an illegitimate president.”
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’s victory has already been certified by electoral judges.
However, analysts say that Petro’s claims of electoral fraud could undermine de la Espriella’s legitimacy among some voters and further polarize the nation’s politics.
Cepeda has said he will organize a series of protests against the incoming president, and will not acknowledge him as Colombia’s leader until de la Espriella meets several conditions that include renouncing his dual U.S. citizenship.
Petro, a former member of a rebel group, earlier Monday also urged people in rural areas to form committees he described as “liberation guards” 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’s Externado University, said that Petro’s statements could help “justify the use of weapons by civilians” in areas that have already been affected by conflicts between the Colombian military, drug traffickers and rebel groups.
Petro said Monday he feared being “extracted” from Colombia after he steps down from office to become an opposition leader and continues to make claims that Colombia’s election was rigged.
“I’ve been told to behave well,” Petro said. “But as a democrat I cannot accept this electoral fraud.”
Colombia's President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella speaks during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/John Vizcaino)
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro gestures during a press conference at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro holds a press conference at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed spent the final hours of Michigan's fiercely contested Democratic Senate primary making their closing pitches in settings that reflected the starkly different campaigns they have run for more than a year.
In Detroit, El-Sayed posed for photos and participated in interviews with content creators at a backyard pool party before a final rally with supporters. He projected confidence about Tuesday’s result, already looking ahead to a general election against Republican Mike Rogers.
“We have an opportunity to continue to build this movement. We got 13 weeks left to work,” El-Sayed said at his final event of the primary campaign in Detroit.
On the state’s west side, Stevens was barnstorming in the final hours with events in Muskegon Heights and Grand Rapids alongside Michigan Democratic officials. She continued to frame herself as the only candidate who could defeat Rogers.
It was a fitting final contrast in a race that has become one of the clearest tests yet of where Democratic voters want their party to go. El-Sayed, a progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and other leaders on the party’s left, has run against much of the Democratic establishment. Stevens, a four-term congresswoman backed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and many of Michigan’s top Democrats, has made electability and experience central to her case.
Tens of millions of dollars have poured into the race, much of it from outside groups supporting Stevens. But the contest now comes down to which candidate can assemble enough of Michigan’s Democratic coalition to win Tuesday.
El-Sayed opted to focus in his campaign’s final days on Detroit, which he called a “spiritual home” and a place where he wanted to “demonstrate what this movement is and what it could mean.”
Stevens, meanwhile, spent time in Detroit before heading to the state's west side. She called the final push the “last word phenomenon."
“Everyone’s trying to get in their last points," she said.
Both candidates have spent parts of the campaign’s final days in Detroit, where Black voters have long been crucial to winning Democratic primaries.
El-Sayed began Sunday by sitting alongside his wife and Black political leaders in a packed Detroit church, clapping as the congregation sang and the pastor preached. Then he stood before the room and asked for their votes.
“I believe in the kind of America where no matter where you grow up, the color of your skin, how you pray, you deserve equal rights in this country,” El-Sayed told the congregation at Kingdom Covenant Church.
“You deserve to go to a good school, you deserve to get healthcare, you deserve to graduate and get a good job,” he added.
El-Sayed was joined by Democratic Reps. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, as well as Yusef Jackson, the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson who is president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Pastor David A. Johnson II said welcoming a political candidate was not something he typically did, but “this particular season, it’s time for us to do something different.”
For Robin Robertson, a 59-year-old Detroit resident, El-Sayed’s visit came just in time. Robertson said she had gone back and forth over whom to support, waiting until the campaign’s final days to decide.
She ultimately settled on El-Sayed, saying Stevens “had a good run.”
“His agenda seems to match more for me the things that we need right now,” Robertson said. “And then, he’s here in my little church. That was confirmation that I’m going to vote for him.”
Stevens, meanwhile, emphasized her longstanding connections to Detroit-area churches.
At a church in Pontiac on Sunday afternoon, Stevens stayed after the service to speak individually with congregants, greeting many like familiar faces.
“I come here year-round. This isn’t just a campaign thing,” Stevens said. “Our churches are places of community refuge, community connection.”
Stevens and her allies have also made a direct appeal to Black voters through advertisements highlighting her ties to former President Barack Obama and her work as chief of staff for his administration’s auto rescue effort from 2009 to 2011.
Her campaign acknowledges that a strong showing among Detroit voters will likely be necessary for her to win Tuesday.
Reggie Williams, a longtime constituent who was supporting Stevens at an Oakland County event Sunday evening in a union hall, said he continues to back her because she “has always been there for the people.”
“She is out and about in the community, always has boots on the ground,” Williams said.
After spending much of Sunday pursuing some of the same Democratic constituencies, El-Sayed and Stevens took different paths across Michigan for the final full day of the primary.
For El-Sayed, that meant leaning into a volunteer operation his campaign says has grown to 12,000 people statewide. Stevens is relying on the broader institutional support she has accumulated across the state, including endorsements from many of Michigan’s most prominent Democratic officials, such as Sen. Gary Peters and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
El-Sayed remained in Detroit, trying to turn enthusiasm in the state’s largest city into votes. Monday evening he closed his campaign with a voter mobilization event in Detroit, alongside other candidates running for Congress and state office.
Stevens' Monday included a stop at a soul food restaurant and bakery in Muskegon Heights, where she addressed just over 20 people and positioned herself as the only candidate who can win against Republican Mike Rogers in November.
Sharri J. Lane, who owns a jewelry business and grew up in Muskegon Heights, was in attendance and had already voted for Stevens.
“I hope that she will keep her word and will do things that will benefit so many communities like ours,” Lane, 54, said while standing next to a rack of her earrings for sale. “Sometimes we’re forgotten about, you know, after the voting ends.”
The primary has been bruising and expensive. And after Tuesday, Michigan Democrats will have to figure out how quickly they can put it behind them.
The winner will immediately face the task of bringing together supporters of two candidates who have offered different visions for the party and whose campaigns have grown increasingly contentious in the closing weeks.
El-Sayed and his allies have sharpened their attacks on Stevens. He told Semafor in July that a pro-Israel group backing her needed to “teach her how to string together two coherent sentences.” Stevens escalated her own criticism in the campaign's final days, responding to a clip of El-Sayed on July 31 by saying, “Everyone in America understands you want to blame all of your problems on Jewish Americans.”
Michigan Democrats are hoping to begin the process of coalescing almost immediately. The party plans to bring its nominees from across the state together in the days after the primary for a general election kickoff aimed at presenting a united front heading into November.
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GaNun reported from Muskegon Heights, Michigan.
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign event at Corine's Soul Food, Cakes & Catering Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Muskegon Heights, Mich., as Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., right, listens (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign event at Corine's Soul Food, Cakes & Catering Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Muskegon Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, talks poolside at a party for content creators supporting his campaign, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign event at Corine's Soul Food, Cakes & Catering Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Muskegon Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, films a social media video at a pool party for content creators supporting his campaign, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Abdul El-Sayed, right, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, accompanied by Rep. Analilia Mejia, D-N.J., greets a supporter during a campaign rally at the UAW Region 1 Union Hall, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Warren, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., left, a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign event at the UA Local Plumbers 98 Union Hall, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Madison Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a service at Church of the Messiah, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., left, a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, accompanied by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., speaks during a campaign event at the UA Local Plumbers 98 Union Hall, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Madison Heights, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, walks from Anthology Coffee to the Spirit of Detroit during the March of the Many, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
