June 1, 2026, 5:04 amJune 1, 2026, 5:04 am
Abelardo de la Espriella (l.) and Iván Cepeda-Image: keystone
Colombia’s presidential election is heading to a runoff between right-wing lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and left-wing senator Iván Cepeda. After almost 99.5 percent of the votes were counted, de la Espriella got 43.7 percent and Cepeda got almost 41 percent, as the electoral authority announced. Since none of the candidates achieved an absolute majority, the decision on the presidential office will only be made in the runoff election on June 21st.
Around 41 million citizens were called upon to elect a successor to left-wing President Gustavo Petro, who was not allowed to run again according to the constitution. The vote was also seen as a decision on whether Colombia would continue on Petro’s course of higher social spending and negotiations with armed groups or take a more conservative path.
The conservative senator Paloma Valencia, who was also one of the most promising candidates before the election, ended up well behind the two leading candidates with almost seven percent of the vote. Cepeda is running for the government camp and wants to continue Petro’s reform course. De la Espriella, on the other hand, advocates a tough security course, a leaner state and uncompromising action against armed groups.
The security situation shaped the election campaign
The election campaign was recently overshadowed by a tense security situation. In the run-up to the vote there were several attacks in which civilians, soldiers and police officers were killed or injured. The head of the Colombia office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), Kristin Wesemann, recently spoke of “one of the most serious waves of violence in recent years”.
Petro was elected in 2022 as the first left-wing president in Colombia’s history. While his supporters point to falling poverty rates, higher social spending and minimum wage increases, critics accuse him of not having achieved a decisive breakthrough against armed groups with his plan for “total peace”. (sda/dpa)