BOGOTA – Colombia’s right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriela appears poised to win the country’s presidential election on June 21, with nearly 95% of ballot boxes counted and just under 50% of the vote, data from the country’s National Registry show.
His rival, leftist Ivan Cepeda, had a lead of 48.4%, or about 368,000 votes.
In addition to a tough crackdown on crime, de la Espriela, 47, has proposed halting peace talks with armed groups and revitalizing Colombia’s oil and gas sector.
Cepeda, 63, has vowed to continue the policies of President Gustavo Petro, a former rebel and the country’s first leftist president. Its policies include union-backed state pension payments to the poor, peace talks with armed groups that have been fighting the state for decades, and a moratorium on new oil projects.
Blaming the Petro for the country’s economic and security crisis, de la Espriela vowed to cut taxes and reduce the state’s size by up to 40%, but said he would maintain the Petro’s 23% minimum wage hike and other general social measures.
Whoever wins will have to deal with high public debt and a divided Congress that could hamper reform proposals.
About 400,000 voters submitted blank ballots, usually seen as protest votes.
