Colombians will make a choice for president between a leftist former rebel and a populist businessman in a runoff contest in June after none of the six candidates in the first round got 50 percent of the vote.
Leftist Senator Gustavo Petro led Sunday's results with just over 40 percent of the votes, while independent real estate tychoon Rodolfo Hernandez finished second with more than 28 percent, election authorities said Sunday evening. A candidate needed 50 percent of the total votes to win outright and the run-off election.
Voters in the South American country went to the polls amid a polarised environment and growing discontent over increasing inequality and inflation.
Petro has promised to make significant adjustments to the economy, including tax reform, and to change how Colombia fights drug cartels and other armed groups.
Hernandez has few connections to political parties and promises to reduce wasteful government spending and to offer rewards for people who report corrupt officials.
This was the second presidential election held since the government signed in 2016 a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC for its initials in Spanish.
But the divisive agreement was not a main issue during the campaign, which focused on poverty, inflation and other challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.
Candidates also focused on increasing violence, which the Red Cross in 2021 concluded reached its highest level in five years. Although the peace agreement is being implemented, territories and drug trafficking routes once controlled by the FARC are in dispute between other armed groups such as the National Liberation Army, a guerrilla group founded in the 1960s, FARC dissidents and the Clan del Golfo cartel.
Petro and his running mate, Francia Marquez, upped their security significantly after they denounced threats against them.
About 10 bodyguards escorted them with shields at times.
New political era in Colombia
Election Day took place peacefully for the most part across the country. But in the south-central state of Guaviare, three explosions were set off in rural areas far from polling stations, leaving a soldier with shrapnel wounds, said Defence Minister Diego Molano, who added that FARC dissident groups were allegedly responsible. The dissidents operate in the area.
Meanwhile, dozens of Colombians who wanted to return to their home country to vote faced difficulties at the border with Venezuela. The non-governmental group Colombian Electoral Observation Mission complained that "the Venezuelan Guard prevented the passage of Colombians" over the border bridges.
Immigration authorities in Colombia said an agreement calls for allowing Colombians registered to vote at border consulates to enter their homeland.
Petro has said he would resume diplomatic relations with the government of Nicolas Maduro, broken with Duque since 2019.
It is Petro's third attempt to be the South America's country president. He was defeated in 2018 by Duque, who was not eligible for reelection.
A victory for Petro would usher in a new political era in a country that has always been governed by conservatives or moderates while marginalising the left due to its perceived association with the nation’s armed conflict. He was once a rebel with the now-defunct M-19 movement and was granted amnesty after being jailed for his involvement with the group.
He has promised to make significant adjustments to the economy, including a tax reform, as well as changes to how Colombia fights drug cartels and other armed groups.
