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Leftist ex-rebel fighter and businessman head to Colombia runoff - Al Jazeera
A leftist former rebel fighter has come out on top in the first round of Colombia’s presidential election and is set to face a populist businessman in a second round showdown on June 19.
Gustavo Petro, a 62-year-old former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement, had 40.3 percent of votes, office tallies showed, with 99.9 percent of ballot boxes counted on Sunday.
Rodolfo Hernandez, a septuagenarian real estate tycoon whose spot in the runoff contest came as a surprise, won 28.1 percent.
Surveys ahead of the first round showed Hernandez – who now has the support of third place candidate Federico Gutierrez and likely many of his supporters – would lag just a few points behind Petro in a runoff vote.
Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti reports from the capital, Bogota.