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Right-wing businessman Abelardo de la Espriella holds a razor-thin lead in Colombia’s preliminary presidential vote count, positioning the Donald Trump ally to clear the way for expanded fossil fuel extraction, including controversial fracking projects.

A de la Espriella presidency would mark a sharp reversal for one of the world’s most ambitious experiments in fossil fuel phaseout. Under outgoing President Gustavo Petro, Colombia banned fracking and became the first major oil-producing nation to halt new oil and gas exploration licenses, positioning itself as a bellwether for developing countries seeking to align their economic policies with climate goals.

Election authorities said on Monday that with 99.9 percent of the results in, de la Espriella holds 49.66 percent of the vote, while progressive lawmaker and Petro-ally Iván Cepeda Castro has 48.7 percent. De la Espriella claimed victory Sunday night.

Petro alleged irregularities in the vote count in social media posts Sunday. He and Cepeda said they will challenge the results.

De la Espriella, 47, campaigned on aggressively expanding oil, gas and mineral extraction, saying that his policy platform will provide economic security and energy self-sufficiency.

In May, de la Espriella said that Colombia should do “all the fracking possible.” He also dismissed concerns about fracking’s environmental risks as “urban myths.”

Unlike the United States, where fracking has taken hold for more than a decade, most Latin American countries have resisted the water-intensive drilling method known to contaminate aquifers and ecosystems with toxic spills. Argentina and Mexico currently have commercial-scale operations.

De la Espriella — a multimillionaire criminal-defense attorney who owns businesses in real estate, luxury goods and alcohol — has called leftist groups the “plague” and said that he would “gut” them. In Colombia, the political left has long championed environmental causes.

On Sunday, de la Espriella told supporters that “I will govern for all Colombians, for those who voted for me and for those who chose the other candidate.”

Under Petro, Colombia enacted some of the region’s most ambitious climate policies and sought to transition the country away from fossil fuels. He co-hosted the world’s first conference to quit fossil fuels and supported the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Even so, Colombia remained heavily dependent on oil revenues, and Petro’s implementation of environmental policies was often constrained by economic pressures.

The prospect of a de la Espriella presidency has raised concerns among........

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