Far-right politician and businessman Abelardo de la Espriella and Ivan Cepeda, candidate of the ruling leftist party “Historic Pact“ in Colombia, are advancing to the second round of the presidential election.
This is according to data published on the website of the National Civil Registry, after 92.85% of the votes were counted.
According to these data, de la Espriella received 43.63% of the votes, while Cepeda received 41.17%. To win in the first round, the leader needed an absolute majority of the votes – 50% plus one vote. The runoff will be held on June 21.
Senator Cepeda advocates for the continuation of the socio-economic policies of the current Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who was not eligible to run for a second term. He promises to continue his program of labor reform and expansion of social security. His economic proposals include the introduction of taxes on large assets and a reduction in subsidies for large companies.
De la Espriella built his campaign on the ideas of an uncompromising fight against crime and reducing state intervention in the economy. To stimulate economic growth, he intends to significantly reduce government spending, increase exports and expand the production of fossil fuels.
Cepeda is the only favorite in the race who has sharply criticized the US operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. De la Espriella, for his part, advocates for stronger military cooperation with the United States and Israel and plans to consider the possibility of American military participation in strikes against drug cartel laboratories.