News SOS for Journalists Latin America Culture

Photos Photo of the Day Videos

Colombia Holds Presidential Elections This Sunday May 31st

After the campaign: What kind of country will be left to govern?

The final stretch of Colombia’s presidential campaign has left the country captive to polarization, political violence, and rhetoric that erodes democratic coexistence.

By Fidel Cano (Latinoamérica21)

HAVANA TIMES — Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Colombia this Sunday, May 31, 2026. Incumbent President Gustavo Petro, elected in 2022 is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term. To win on the first round of voting a candidate must receive over 50% of the valid votes. If no candidate achieves that, a second round will take place on June 21 between the top two finishers on Sunday.

Having reached the last week of campaigning before Colombia’s first-round presidential election, the country is flooded with aggression. From acts of violence – like the murder of two of Abelardo de la Espriella’s campaign workers; or the vandalizing of campaign offices belonging to Paloma Valencia and Ivan Cepeda — to the rhetoric of the candidates themselves and their countless surrogates, hostility has become the coin of the day.

[While there are 10 candidates, Ivan Cepeda, Paloma Valencia and Abelardo de la Espriella are expected to be the........

© Havana Times