Colombia’s Presidential Race Heads to Runoff Between De La Espriella and Cepeda
De la Espriella won 43.7% and Cepeda 40.9% as voters split over security and peace policies, official results showed.
- On Sunday, Colombian voters sent lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and Senator Iván Cepeda to a presidential runoff scheduled for June 21, after De la Espriella led with more than 43% and Cepeda secured less than 41% of votes.
- The election functions as a referendum on outgoing President Gustavo Petro's 'total peace' policy, which aims to negotiate ceasefires with armed factions 10 years after Colombia signed the historic peace pact with FARC.
- De la Espriella, known as 'The Tiger,' advocates for a militaristic crackdown modeled on President Nayib Bukele's approach, while Cepeda promises to deepen reforms and continue what he describes as a 'democratic revolution' under Petro.
- Washington is closely watching the runoff given Colombia's strategic role in hemispheric drug trafficking and migration efforts, as the result will determine whether the nation aligns closer with President Donald Trump or pursues independent foreign policy.
- Candidates must now court the less than 7% of voters who supported Paloma Valencia to secure victory in the highly polarized June 21 contest, which will set Colombia on sharply diverging political paths.
414 Articles
414 Articles
The victory of the ultra-rightist Abelardo de la Espriella in the first round of the presidential elections in Colombia surprised inside and outside the country, as progressive Ivan Cepeda led all the polls from becoming a standard-bearer of the Historical Pact until the formal closure of the campaigns. According to the pre-counting reported by the National Civil State Registry (an organ that carries out the electoral processes, but also has oth…
Colombia: De la Espriella and Cepeda Advance to Runoff in Presidential Elections
Abelardo de la Espriella and Iván Cepeda will advance to the second round of Colombia’s presidential elections after neither candidate won over half of the votes in the first round held this Sunday, May 31. Far-right lawyer De la Espriella came in first place, obtaining 10,338,440 votes, equivalent to 43.73%. Meanwhile, left-wing candidate Cepeda received 9,673,390 votes, representing 40.91% of the popular support. Colombia’s National Registry r…
President Trump made clear what he wanted when he brought together conservative Latin American leaders in Florida in March. He promised that together they would “eradicate the criminal cartels that ravage our region,” Trump told the leaders that he needed only one thing. “We need your help,” he said. “You have to tell us where they are.” Mr. Trump could now win an ally in a country that, according to experts, is the most important for that missi…
In the presidential election in Colombia, right-wing lawyer de la Espriella and left-wing senator Cepeda go into the run-off.
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