Overview
- The first-round vote took place on May 31, 2026, and polls and media coverage indicate no candidate is likely to clear the 50 percent threshold so a June 21 runoff is expected between the top two finishers.
- Senator Iván Cepeda led pre-election polls as the candidate of the Historic Pact who promises to expand Gustavo Petro’s social programs and pursue negotiated peace with armed groups, but polling showed him well below an outright majority.
- Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia ran on hardline security platforms that promise tougher military action, prison construction and closer cooperation with the United States, options that have gained traction as voters cite rising violence.
- The campaign was marked by repeated attacks and targeted killings of campaign staffers, and authorities deployed hundreds of thousands of security personnel to polling places to protect voters and candidates.
- Colombia faces large humanitarian and fiscal challenges with more than 235,000 people displaced in 2025 and growing deficits that will test any incoming president’s ability to balance security operations with social spending.