Colombia's national vote count for the presidential runoff is nearing completion at Corferias in Bogota.

The process is critical to validating the election of the next president, ensuring the official count by judges and notaries matches the initial preliminary data.

The Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil and the National Electoral Council (CNE) are supervising the scrutiny. According to the Registraduría, the preliminary count coincides with the judges' scrutiny by 99.997% [1]. This high level of alignment suggests a stable transition toward the official declaration of a winner.

While the preliminary results are largely settled, the CNE has worked to combat misinformation. A spokesperson for the CNE said, "The process of scrutiny has not finished" [2], after the agency denied the authenticity of images circulating online that purported to show definitive results.

Candidates Iván Cepeda and Abelardo De la Espriella remain the central figures in the count. In some reports, Cepeda has only managed to reduce the gap by 273 votes across 30 departmental capitals [3]. Meanwhile, preliminary data indicated De la Espriella held 49.66% of the vote [4].

Discrepancies in reporting have emerged regarding the exact progress of the count. Some sources report that 99.99% of tables have been informed [5], while others cite a figure of 99.98% [6]. Despite these minor variations, the process continues under the supervision of electoral authorities.

During the national hearing, tensions have risen between representatives of the Pacto Histórico and Defensores de la Patria. A representative for the Pacto Histórico, presumed to be Cepeda, said, "I make a respectful call" [7], in an effort to maintain order during the proceedings.

The final certification will occur once the CNE and the Registraduría complete the validation of all remaining ballots, a step required by law before the president-elect is formally announced.

“The preliminary count coincides with the judges' scrutiny by 99.997%.”

The high degree of correlation between the preliminary count and the official judicial scrutiny minimizes the likelihood of a successful legal challenge to the results. However, the CNE's need to debunk false images indicates a volatile information environment, where premature declarations of victory could trigger civil unrest before the official certification is complete.