BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — 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 Sunday’s first round got 50% of the vote.
Leftist Sen. Gustavo Petro led Sunday’s results with just over 40% of the votes, while independent real estate tycoon Rodolfo Hernández finished second with more than 28%, election authorities said Sunday evening. A candidate needed 50% of the total votes to win outright and the run-off election.
Voters in the South American country went to the polls amid a polarized 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.
Hernández 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 Márquez, upped their security significantly after they denounced threats against them. About 10 bodyguards escorted them with shields at times.
FILE – Presidential candidate Gustavo Petro of the Historical Pact coalition, waves to his supporters during a campaign rally in Fusagasuga, Colombia, May 11, 2022. The latest opinion polls suggest Petro, a former rebel, could get 40% of the votes, with a 15-point lead over his closest rival. But the senator needs 50% to avoid a runoff election in June against the second-place finisher. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File) 
FILE – Presidential candidate Federico Gutierrez of the Team Colombia coalition, waves at supporters during a campaign rally in Chia, Colombia, May 16, 2022. Gutierrez, a former mayor of Medellin, is backed by most of Colombia’s traditional parties and is running on a pro-business, economic growth platform. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File) 
FILE – Supporters of presidential candidate Gustavo Petro of the Historical Pact coalition, attend a campaign rally in Fusagasuga, Colombia, May 11, 2022. Colombians emerging from the coronavirus pandemic are heading to the polls to pick their next president on Sunday, May 29, choosing from six candidates who all promise various degrees of change amid rising inequality, inflation, violence and a discontent with the status quo. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File) 
FILE – Presidential candidate Federico Gutierrez of the Team Colombia coalition poses for a selfie with a supporter during a campaign rally in Chia, Colombia, Monday, May 16, 2022. Gutierrez, a former mayor of Medellin, is backed by most of Colombia’s traditional parties and is running on a pro-business, economic growth platform. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File) 
FILE – People walk past a campaign mural of presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernandez, representing the League of Anti-Corruption Governors, in Bogota, Colombia, May 20, 2022. Hernandez, the former mayor of Bucaramanga, rose in the final stretch of the Colombia’s presidential campaign after promising to “clean” the country of corruption and to donate his salary among other measures. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File) 
FILE – Surrounded by bodyguards holding bulletproof shields, presidential candidate Gustavo Petro of the Historical Pact coalition speaks to his supporters during a campaign rally in Medellin, Colombia, May 20, 2022. With an emotional anti-establishment discourse and promises to boost state involvement in the economy, Petro has garnered a comfortable lead in polls as Colombia heads into the May 29 presidential election. (AP Photo/Jaime Saldarriaga, File) 
Voting booths are set up at Corferias, the main polling station in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, May 27, 2022. Colombians emerging from the coronavirus pandemic are heading to the polls on May 29 to pick their next president, choosing from six candidates who all promise various degrees of change amid rising inequality, inflation, violence and a discontent with the status quo. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) 
Mounted police patrol on the outskirts of Bogota ahead of weekend presidential elections in Colombia, Friday, May 27, 2022. According to Director of the Colombian Mounted Police, Gen. Jesus Alejandro Barrera, his force will ensure security in rural areas during elections. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) 
FILE – Presidential candidate Gustavo Petro with the Historical Pact coalition, left, Federico Gutierrez, presidential candidate representing the Team Colombia coalition, second left, and Hope Coalition presidential candidate Sergio Fajardo, right, take part in a presidential debate at the El Tiempo newspaper building in Bogota, Colombia, May 23, 2022. Colombians will pick from six candidates in the May 29 election. If no one gets 50% of the votes, a runoff ballot would be held in June between the top two finishers. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
