Far-right candidate Aberlardo de la Espriella took the lead in the first round of Colombia’s presidential election on Sunday, and will face left-wing Iván Cepeda in a runoff on June 21.
According to preliminary results, De la Espriella won nearly 44% of the vote, while Cepeda — the ruling party’s candidate, as Colombia has barred presidential reelection since 2015 — finished second with 41%, despite entering the race as the frontrunner in most opinion polls.
Given none of the candidates reached the required minimum of 50% to win in the general election, Colombia’s next president will be decided in 20 days.
While polls had suggested that traditional right-wing candidate Paloma Valencia would be locked in a tight race with De la Espriella for second place, she ultimately finished a distant third with just 7% of the vote.
The result underscored the extent to which the electorate coalesced around the two candidates at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum.
