Far-right presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espreilla has won the most votes in the first round of the Colombian presidential elections. International news agencies reported this on Monday. De la Espreilla is just ahead of the social democrat Iván Cepeda with 44 percent of the votes. He received 41 percent of the votes.
At least, that’s how it seems now. Both Cepeda and the incumbent president Gustavo Petro, a party colleague of Cepeda, do not want to recognize the results until they have been verified. According to Cepeda, the elections were manipulated, but he has provided no evidence for that accusation.
Because neither candidate appears to have received more than 50 percent of the votes, another vote will be held on June 21. Fourteen candidates participated in the first round, in the second round only de la Espreilla and Cepeda will compete against each other.
Attacks
As is often the case in Colombia, the elections are marked by violence. Guerillos have recently carried out attacks on civilians with drones and explosives. Last month, for example, 21 civilians were killed in such an attack on a bus. And politicians are also targeted: a right-wing conservative presidential candidate was shot in the head and died last year. Cepeda’s number two was kidnapped in February.
The campaign is largely about how to deal with the guerrillas. And in that respect, Colombia has something to choose from. Businessman and lawyer De la Espreilla (47) wants to crack down on the militias and put an end to negotiations between the groups and the government.
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De la Espreilla presents himself as a political outsider, macho man and fan of American President Donald Trump. The Colombian presidency would be his first official political role, but de la Espreilla is not a blank slate. He was previously a lawyer and confidant of a former Colombian minister. He is now in US prison for allegedly laundering money for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
With far-reaching plans, de la Espreilla attracted the attention of Colombian voters. Among other things, he wants to build ten mega prisons and allow citizens to carry firearms.
Negotiating with guerrillas
Opposite him is human rights activist Cepeda (63). Since 2010, he was first a parliamentarian and then a senator. Cepeda is in favor of further negotiations with the guerrillas, and advocates higher taxes for high earners to finance social programs. He is the son of an assassinated leader of Colombia’s communist party, but he himself is a social democrat. Cepeda grew up partly in exile in the Czech Republic and Cuba, and studied in Bulgaria. There he became disillusioned with communism.
In the second round, both candidates will have to reach middle voters – who could be decisive. On Monday, right-wing conservative presidential candidate Paloma Valencia, who received 7 percent of the votes, announced that she would support de la Espreilla. If many of her voters turn to de la Espreilla, it appears he has a good chance of defeating Cepeda on June 21.
