This page was updated on March 13 to include Paloma Valencia
Colombia is preparing for presidential elections on May 31 in a race marred by violence. Candidates have scaled back campaigning after a wave of attacks, including the kidnapping of a senator and the assassination last year of Miguel Uribe Turbay, the first killing of a Colombian presidential candidate in over 30 years.
These attacks have reinforced the public’s concern over rising crime and the government’s failure to rein in armed insurgent groups as coca production and drug trafficking have boomed in recent years. Polling shows that corruption, street crime, and armed group violence are the top voter concerns ahead of the presidential vote.
The crowded field of presidential contenders is expected to thin out in the wake of the March 8 legislative elections and party primaries, in which the three of the four leading candidates presented below did not participate. If no candidate secures at least 50% of the vote on May 31, a runoff will be held between the top two on June 21.
AQ has included only candidates polling above 5% in recent Atlas Intel surveys, listed in alphabetical order by last name. AQ has also asked more than a dozen nonpartisan experts on Colombia to help us identify where each candidate stands on two spectrums: left versus right on economic matters, and personalistic versus institutionalist on leadership style.
