Abelardo de la Espriella, Colombia’s hard-right president-elect, failed to push through his picks to lead the new congress inaugurated yesterday.

The vote for the President of the Senate went late into the night on Monday and saw a surprise alliance between the leftist Historic Pact (Pacto Histórico) and the right-wing Democratic Center (Centro Democrático) party against de la Espriella.

Analysts say the setback foreshadows the lofty legislative challenges the president-elect is likely to face when he takes office on August 7. 

At 3:00 PM on Monday, Colombia’s new caucus of lawmakers was formally inaugurated, with 103 senators and 183 congresspeople beginning their terms for the 2026-2030 period.

Lingering over the inauguration was the matter of who would lead the senate; with the parties unable to reach a backdoor agreement, the decision went to a so-called clean vote, in which individual lawmakers anonymously choose their candidate, rather than being binded by blocs.

De la Espriella’s pick of Alfredo Deluque – a senator since 2022 and friend of the president-elect since his school days – was expected to win, having been backed by eight parties representing 55 senators.

But in a twist, Senator Honorio Henriquez of the Democratic Center party, was elected just before midnight with 56 votes in favor and 45 against. He received the unanimous backing of both his party and the Historic Pact, as well as several dissenting members of parties aligned to de la Espriella.

The president-elect’s pick to lead the chamber of representatives also failed to win the support of lawmakers.

Following the defeat in the senate leadership race, de la Espriella accepted the result and claimed it was a victory for democracy.

“It had been more than 30 years since the Senate leadership had been elected through a free vote, without any backroom deals. That strengthens our democracy,” said the president-elect in a video message on X this morning. 

But analysts say Henriquez’s victory foreshadows legislative difficulties for the new head of state.

“It shows that he doesn’t have all the cards in his hand. And if he wants to govern, he needs to make concessions,” said Sergio Guzmán, Director of Colombia Risk Analysis, a political risk consultancy.

Indeed, de la Espriella’s margin of victory in the presidential run-off was less than 1%, underscoring slim support in a divided political landscape.

He will face staunch opposition from the Historic Pact, which has the most seats in congress. Senator Ivan Cepeda, de la Espriella’s opponent in the election, will assume the role of party leader.

Meanwhile, outgoing President Gustavo Petro, the country’s first leftist leader, will serve as president of the party – a more administrative, internal facing role – cementing his place as a key figure in the opposition to the incoming right-wing government.

Divisions within the right

But crucially, yesterday’s events highlighted the opposition de la Espriella faces from fellow members of the right. 

Second to the Historic Pact in congressional seats is the Democratic Center party, led by ex-president and conservative figurehead Álvaro Uribe.

Uribe and the Democratic Center endorsed de la Espriella’s presidential run after their candidate, Paloma Valencia, flopped in the first round vote. 

But by running Henriquez to lead the senate, Uribe’s party showed it will not simply do de la Espriella’s bidding.

“This marks an initial setback for Abelardo de la Espiella’s administration, which will hopefully be able to mend its relationship with the Democratic Center – a relationship that already feels and appears somewhat strained, or perhaps lacks adequate channels of communication,” said Miguel Jaramillo Luján, a political strategist.

Uribe has even suggested that there may be a power struggle between him and de la Espiella, saying last week that he worries the president-elect may be angling to destroy the Centro Democrático.

“It’s fine for the tiger to roar to defend the homeland, and we’re there with him, but I’m scared that they’ll roar to try to put an end to [our] party,” he told radio station Caracol, referring to de la Espiella’s nickname, El Tigre.

Uribe added that his party will back de la Espriella as long as his proposals align with the Centro Democrático’s principles.

For the incoming president, yesterday’s contentious congressional session may presage the limits of his power and the challenges he faces in implementing his planned reforms. 

“If he intends to govern the country as if he won by a massive landslide, he’s going to be surprised about the separation of the different branches of government and the independent checks on presidential power,” said Guzmán.

This article originally appeared on The Bogotá Post and was re-published with permission.

Featured image description: The Colombian Senate plenary hall.

Featured image credit: Miguel Olaya via Flickr.