A deeply divided electorate will choose Colombia’s next president in a runoff election on Sunday that pits progressives against a conservative outsider, with both candidates fearing a resurgence of internal conflict in the country.
Voters will choose between businessman and lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and Iván Cepeda, a member of parliament and heir to the political movement of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, the nation’s first left-wing leader. The two defeated nine other candidates in the May 31 vote.
Both are laying out strategies that they say will prevent the South American nation from endless violence, such as car bombs, kidnappings, disappearances and forced displacement of the homes that Colombians have lived with for decades.
Cepeda promises to continue Petro’s efforts, including attempts to start negotiations with many illegal armed groups, although those efforts have largely failed.
The two candidates also offer different solutions to the country’s ailing health system, reducing public debt and rampant corruption.
