BOGOTA (Reuters) — Colombians are set to vote on Sunday in what is likely the first round of a presidential election, amid deep polarization between those seeking continuity with the leftist government — including its severing of ties with Israel — and those pushing for a shift to restore security, economic growth, and relations with the Jewish state.

Ivan Cepeda, the candidate for the leftist Historic Pact coalition, has led in polling on his pledges to expand President Gustavo Petro’s social programs and pursue peace with illegal armed groups to end a six-decade internal conflict, though he is expected to face an uphill battle in an eventual second round.

He has promised to stick to Petro’s stance on Israel, with which the current president severed ties in 2024 over the war in Gaza, which he cast as a genocide — a charge vehemently denied by Israel.

Last year, Cepeda filed a police complaint against former president Ivan Duque for “apology of genocide” over Duque’s trip to Israel and meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Cepeda, a 63-year-old philosopher and congressman since 2010, has proposed tax reforms to broaden the tax base, levy wealth taxes and reduce exemptions for large companies to fund social spending. He has said he is open to proposals from the left to rewrite the constitution.

Cepeda, whose communist leader father was killed in a 1994 paramilitary attack, faces a divided right led by independent businessman Abelardo De La Espriella and Senator Paloma Valencia, who former president Alvaro Uribe backs.........

© The Times of Israel