Some 38 million voters will begin to define the political future of Colombia this Sunday in the first round of the presidential elections.
The leader of the left, Gustavo Petro, at the head of all the polls, has practically assured a place in the second round, but the unknown hangs over who will accompany him in that final battle, which will be held on June 19.
The right-wing candidate, Fico Gutiérrez, has failed to take off in the polls and, although he has always been in second place, he now feels Rodolfo Hernández's breath on the back of his neck.
The indefinable candidate, with a markedly populist tone, appeared on the horizon in recent weeks and, according to the polls, reaches the final stretch adding support and in a marked rise.
The polls, which open on Sunday at eight in the morning,
Colombians will vote after the most heated campaign in the country's recent history.
Petro has dominated the race from the beginning and his possible victory, in a country where the left has never governed, has generated a political storm, with cross-accusations of fraud or questioning of the entire electoral process.
Colombians will go to the polls amidst a climate of uncertainty in this first test of the presidential race.
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Neither debates nor public square, the campaign is carried out from social networks
TikTok has become the new public square and Colombia has a new king on that stage: Gustavo Petro, with 709,700 followers on this social network.
So much so that even the biggest Twitch celebrity in Spain, Ibai Llanos, has made a video wishing him luck on Sunday, the day of the presidential elections.
This was not always so.
Until a few months ago, presidential candidate Rodolfo Hernández (446,300 followers) held the title of most popular.
It is for this reason that many Colombians know him as “the old man from TikTok”.
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It is part of a change of strategy in politicians' campaigns, with the aim of creating an emotional connection with people who say they are not interested in traditional politics.
The challenge is to convert the number of followers they have on social networks into votes.
In the networks of all the candidates it has been possible to see viral challenges, questions and answers in youtuber format and even the occasional dance.
Read the full report here
Juan Miguel Hernandez21:04
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Change the start time of the dry law at the request of the Association of Bars of Colombia
The start time of the dry law in Colombia for the presidential elections changed at the request of the Association of Bars (Asobares).
According to the Ministry of the Interior, now the prohibition to sell alcohol will come into force at six in the afternoon this Saturday, May 28, and not at four, as planned.
The reason for the time change was Liverpool's match against Real Madrid.
“We request that this time be changed to 6pm, since hundreds of businesses, millions of viewers and thousands of workers from different activities will broadcast, live and work for the Champions League final match, which will take place at 2pm, Colombian local time, between two world soccer greats: Real Madrid and Liverpool, where Colombian star Luis Díaz plays”, reads the letter sent by Asobares to the Ministry of the Interior.
Juan Miguel Hernandez20:17
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How to check the polling station?
The Registrar's website will be open so that citizens can check their polling place.
The citizenship card number must be entered and the department, city or municipality, voting station, address and table of the place destined to exercise your vote will appear;
You can also consult the map with the exact location.
Although it is recommended that voters know their polling station beforehand, during election day there will also be consultants prepared to answer citizens' questions.
Juan Miguel Hernandez20:01
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President Duque was with the OAS electoral mission and gave a piece of calm for tomorrow's elections: "For Colombia it is very important to have the support of @OEA_oficial and its Electoral Observation Mission, led by @EladioLoizaga, in the tomorrow's democratic process. In our meeting we highlight your presence in the country and your work in these elections".
Juan Miguel Hernandez19:57
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President Iván Duque announced on his Twitter account that this Saturday he met with the European Union Electoral Mission, headed by deputy Javier López.
"We value your presence in Colombia to be guarantors of the smooth running of the elections for the Presidency of the Republic."
Juan Miguel Hernandez19:23
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Workers prepare ballot boxes at a voting center in Cali, Colombia, on May 28, 2022, on the eve of presidential elections.
Photo by Raúl ARBOLEDA / AFP
Juan Miguel Hernandez18:46
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Violence rebounds in Colombia in the run-up to the elections
In many places in Colombia, the war that the peace agreement with the extinct FARC guerrillas intended to extinguish is still burning.
More than five years after the signing of that historic pact, with other armed actors who threaten the communities, the risk map for factors of violence in the presidential elections, whose first round is held this Sunday, is still dyed red, orange and yellow, according to all the data compiled by the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM).
The rebound in the activities of illegal armed groups in the pre-election period, with 747 armed actions and 577 intimidations throughout Colombia, has set off alarms.
The greatest evidence of the worrying phenomenon has been the so-called "armed strikes" to which different communities have been subjected
In the last update of the risk map for factors of violence of the EOM, 375 municipalities in the country were identified with some level of risk, of these 95 are at extreme risk.
Between May 1 and 27, 2022, the EOM recorded a total of 63 acts of violence against political, social, and community leaders;
Among these facts, the threats against 13 political leaders and 7 social leaders stand out for carrying out political campaigns.
The El Socorro polling station, Ituango, Antioquia, one of the territories most affected by the violent actions of the Clan del Golfo in the last month and where FARC dissidents are also present, was transferred to the village of La Granja.
In the legislative elections, this position was also transferred for reasons of public order.
You can read more here
Juan Miguel Hernandez18:35
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The EOM will deploy a team of observers for tomorrow's elections
The Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) announced this Saturday that it will deploy a total of 3,539 national and international electoral observers in 467 municipalities in the country, corresponding to 80.2% of the electoral potential.
According to the EOM, the observation team is made up of 56% women (1,971), 43% men (1,535) and 1% (33) non-binary people.
Of the total, 408 are international and come from 30 countries.
218 will observe in Colombian territory;
164 in Bogotá and 54 in 16 municipalities of 14 departments.
For the first time in a presidential election, the EOM carries out an observation with a differential focus focused on trans people and people with disabilities.
In total, the EOM will have 56 trans people who will observe the Trans Voting Protocol.
Also, the EOM will carry out an observation exercise aimed at highlighting the different and multiple obstacles faced by the population with disabilities.
For this, a team of 73 observers with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities will also be deployed, who will also make recommendations to improve the quality of the electoral process.
Juan Miguel Hernandez18:20
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Who are the presidential candidates?
According to the official ticket, designed and issued by the Registrar's Office after a draw, the order of the seven candidates and their formulas for the vice presidency is as follows: Rodolfo Hernández and Marelen Castillo appear first, representing an independent candidacy of the political parties with an anti-establishment and anti-corruption discourse.
Then there are Jhon Milton Rodríguez and Sandra de las Lajas Torres, who have picked up the conservative flags of the Christian churches, in disagreement with the right to abortion, euthanasia and the adoption of same-sex couples.
He is followed by Federico Gutiérrez and Rodrigo Lara of El Equipo por Colombia, the coalition that has brought together the majority of the country's right wing, from the liberals of César Gaviria to the Democratic Center party of former president Álvaro Uribe.
The second line of the electoral card is led by Sergio Fajardo and Luis Gilberto Murillo, elected by the Centro Esperanza Coalition, in which Juan Manuel Galán, of the New Liberalism, also participated;
Carlos Amaya, from the Green Party;
Jorge Robledo, from Dignidad, and the former rector of the Universidad de los Andes Alejandro Gaviria.
Next to it, Enrique Gómez is located with Carlos Cuartas Quiceno, representatives of the National Salvation Movement.
They are followed by Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez, from the Historical Pact, the leftist movement that leads all the polls.
In the third row of the card are Luis Pérez with his formula Ceferino Mosquera and Ingrid Betancourt with retired Colonel José Luis Esparza, from the Verde Oxígeno party, who a week ago withdrew their presidential aspiration.
At the end, there is a blank ballot box.
You can read more information here
Juan Miguel Hernandez17:46
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Good afternoon, I am Juan Miguel Hernández Bonilla, a journalist in Colombia from EL PAÍS.
From this moment I will be accompanying you with all the news of the presidential elections that begin tomorrow at 8 in the morning.
A look at the latest polls shows that for now neither candidate will achieve 50%+1 in the first presidential round, and there are still 10-15% undecided voters who could determine the election for either side.
Gustavo Petro, the candidate of the left, leads all the polls with close to 40% of the voting intentions.
Federico Gutiérrez, from the right, follows him from afar, stuck at 24%.
Third place is occupied by Rodolfo Hernández, who in recent days grew from 12% to 18%, and in fourth place is Sergio Fajardo with a scant 5%.
At the bottom of the list are John Milton Rodríguez and Enrique Gómez, both with 1%.
Ingrid Betancourt and Luis Perez recently renounced their candidacies.
Juan Miguel Hernandez17:09
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