BOGOTA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Polls opened across Colombia on Sunday for the second round of the country's presidential election, with voters choosing a president and a vice president for the 2026-2030 term.
The runoff is a head-to-head contest between left-wing candidate Ivan Cepeda and far-right candidate Abelardo De la Espriella, with the candidate who wins the most votes securing the presidency.
Voting began at 8 a.m. local time (1300 GMT), with more than 41.4 million registered voters eligible to cast ballots at approximately 13,000 polling stations nationwide. Voting was scheduled to close at 4 p.m. (2100 GMT), with preliminary results expected later Sunday.
Senator Cepeda, 63, represents the ruling left-wing Historic Pact coalition. He has a long-standing commitment to social justice in Colombia and was deeply involved in promoting and finalizing the 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and former rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). His running mate is Senator Aida Quilcue, a prominent indigenous leader.
De la Espriella, 47, is a lawyer running as an independent candidate associated with the far-right Defenders of the Homeland movement. As a non-traditional political figure, De la Espriella advocates for shaping national governance through an iron-fisted approach to security and drastic cuts in public spending. His running mate is Jose Manuel Restrepo, Colombia's former Minister of Finance and Public Credit.
Colombia held the first round of the presidential election on May 31. Because no candidate secured an absolute majority, Cepeda and De la Espriella, as the top two finishers, advanced to the June 21 runoff. The newly elected president will take office on Aug. 7.
Colombia's political landscape has shifted sharply in recent years. In 2022, Gustavo Petro of the Historic Pact was elected president, becoming the country's first left-wing leader. Under the constitution, the president serves a single four-year term and cannot seek re-election. ■
