Colombians to head to polls on Sunday to elect next president

Colombians will go to the polls on Sunday to elect the country’s president for the 2026-2030 term.

Although 14 candidates are competing in the first round, the race is expected to center on ruling coalition candidate Ivan Cepeda, Abelardo de la Espriella, and Paloma Valencia, who is backed by former President Alvaro Uribe.

Cepeda, currently a senator and the candidate of the Historic Pact (Pacto Historico), is viewed as the political successor to President Gustavo Petro and leads opinion polls nationwide.

He is known as the son of communist leader Manuel Cepeda Vargas, who was assassinated by paramilitary groups in 1994.

Having spent periods of his life in exile because of death threats against his family, Cepeda later embraced modern and reformist socialist ideas.

If elected, Cepeda has pledged to continue Petro’s social reforms, combat corruption, reduce inequality, implement institutional reforms and strengthen peace through dialogue.

De la Espriella pledges 10 ‘mega prisons’

Lawyer and businessperson Abelardo de la Espriella has openly expressed admiration for El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and seeks to model his security policies on the Salvadoran leader’s approach.

His key campaign promises include building 10 “mega prisons,” ending the Petro administration’s “Total Peace” policy, and adopting a tougher, military-focused strategy against drug trafficking and armed groups.

Running under the slogan “Defenders of the Homeland,” De la Espriella’s former clients include Venezuelan businessperson Alex Saab, who was recently extradited to the US on money laundering and sanctions-related charges and is reported to have close ties to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

De la Espriella ranks second in opinion polls and has conducted campaign rallies behind bulletproof glass, citing death threats.

Valencia backed by Uribismo movement

Valencia, the candidate of the Democratic Center party led by former President Alvaro Uribe, aims to return the influential right-wing political movement known as “Uribismo” to power.

A vocal critic of the government’s security policies, she has pledged to increase defense spending and recruit 60,000 additional soldiers and police officers.

Valencia has also advocated implementing a “Plan Colombia 2.0” modeled on past US-Colombia anti-drug cooperation efforts, lowering taxes and investing more in alternative energy sources.

A member of one of Colombia’s prominent political families, Valencia is the granddaughter of former conservative President Guillermo Leon Valencia.

Former Antioquia Governor Sergio Fajardo and former Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez are also among the candidates. However, both have lagged in opinion polls, struggling to consolidate support for centrist politics as voters increasingly gravitate toward more clearly defined political positions.

Other candidates include former ministers Daniel Palacios and Mauricio Lizcano, businessman Santiago Botero, lawyer Sondra Macollins and former Colombian ambassador to London Roy Barreras.

No polling firm currently gives them a realistic chance of winning.

Polls point to Cepeda lead

According to nationwide surveys, Cepeda leads with an average of 37.8% support.

He is followed by De la Espriella with 28.1%, while Valencia polls at 18.6%.

Other candidates and undecided voters account for a combined 15.5%.

A candidate who wins more than 50% of the vote in the first round will be elected president. Otherwise, the election will proceed to a runoff on June 21.

*Writing by Merve Berker