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France 24
France 24
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FRANCE 24

Hard-right populist tops Colombia vote, faces leftist in runoff

Colombia's presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella greets supporters at a polling station during the presidential election in Barranquilla, Colombia, on 31 May, 2026.
Colombia's presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella greets supporters at a polling station during the presidential election in Barranquilla, Colombia, on May 31, 2026. © Vanessa Romero, AFP

Colombia's presidential election is headed to a runoff after voters delivered a sharply polarised first-round result on Sunday, setting up a contest between hard-right populist Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist senator Ivan Cepeda. The vote came at the end of Colombia's bloodiest campaign in more than a decade, with security and rising violence dominating the race.

Colombia's first-round presidential vote Sunday triggered a runoff between a hard‑right pro-Trump showman and a leftist philosopher-turned-senator, after the bloodiest campaign in over a decade.

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