Colombia Presidential Election Features Left and Right Candidates

The Story

Colombia held a presidential election on Sunday with candidates from the left, right, and center. The race is expected to go to a second round as no candidate is projected to secure an outright majority. Left-leaning Senator Ivan Cepeda has been leading opinion polls but may face a runoff against independent Abelardo De La Espriella or right-wing Senator Paloma Valencia. Incumbent President Gustavo Petro did not seek reelection and endorsed Cepeda. All three candidates campaigned on promises to combat armed groups, reduce inequality, and improve healthcare. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time, with results expected around 8 p.m.

Key Facts

• Colombia held a presidential election featuring candidates from the left and right.

Conflicting Reports

No conflicting reports identified across sources.

Still Unclear

• The election is a three-way race including an independent candidate (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• The election is expected to go to a second round (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• Ivan Cepeda is a 63-year-old left-leaning senator leading opinion polls (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• Incumbent President Gustavo Petro cannot seek another term and endorsed Cepeda (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• Abelardo De La Espriella is a 47-year-old independent former lawyer (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• Paloma Valencia is a 48-year-old right-wing senator who could become Colombia’s first female president (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• Cepeda promises to pursue peace with illegal armed cartels through negotiations (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• De La Espriella and Valencia promise a tough offensive, with De La Espriella proposing 10 mega-prisons (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• Cepeda wants to raise taxes on high earners to expand healthcare and gift 1 million hectares of land to conflict victims (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• De La Espriella focuses on better education to combat inequality (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• Valencia proposes tax breaks for companies and renewed oil and gas exploration to fund social programs and healthcare (Single-source claim, dw.com)
• Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time (1300 UTC) and results expected at about 8 p.m. (Single-source claim, dw.com)

Misconceptions

No widespread misconceptions addressed in the sources.

Key Figures

• Ivan Cepeda – left-leaning senator and presidential candidate
• Abelardo De La Espriella – independent former lawyer and presidential candidate
• Paloma Valencia – right-wing senator and presidential candidate
• Gustavo Petro – incumbent President of Colombia

Sources: NBC News, dw.com