BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombians voted Sunday for a new Congress and to select candidates from three major coalitions in a primary-style contest ahead of a presidential election in May.
The election unfolded under high alert for political violence across the South American country, particularly in rural regions dominated by illegal armed groups.
With over 96% of the polling stations reporting late Sunday night, the political parties receiving the most votes for the Senate were the ruling Historical Pact and the Democratic Center, the main opposition party.
In the House of Representatives, the Democratic Center received the most votes, followed by traditional parties such as the Liberal, Conservative and U parties. The Historical Pact came in fifth.
Just hours after polls opened, Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez asserted that a group of at least 2,400 people “allegedly heading to vote” were detected trying to enter Colombia at an illegal border crossing with Venezuela in Norte de Santander, despite announced border closures during the election process.
“They are doing so illegally,” said the minister, who posted images on his social media account showing people lining up on secondary roads to cross a river to the other side, where several buses were parked. “This is a clear case of a crime being committed,” Sánchez said.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the incident as “large-scale fraud” and an “avalanche of illegal voting” as he called on the mayor of Cucuta to act immediately.
“Sixty buses have been detained, and the company responsible for bringing massive numbers of voters from across the border must be investigated immediately,” Petro wrote on X.
Hours later, the defense minister said authorities had responded and that no people remained in that area. Sánchez said officials have opened an investigation into the transportation company, the political advertising used and the alleged suspects who are being identified.
Petro — the nation’s first left-leaning leader — also has cast doubt on the country's election software, pointing to the 2022 legislative elections, when his Historic Pact movement gained over 390,000 votes following a recount. He attributed this shift to the presence of election observers.
The registrar general, Hernán Penagos, defended the computer systems and explained that they are subject to international audits as he asked citizens to trust the electoral system.
The European Union deployed 40 election observers in early February and said it intended to increase the size of the delegation for Sunday's congressional vote.
‘Everything is wrong’
Sunday’s election is set to define the political landscape for Colombia’s next head of state.
More than 3,000 candidates vied for 285 legislative positions — 102 in the Senate and 183 in the House of Representatives. There are 41.2 million eligible voters.
Among them was Patricia Mendoza, who voted in northern Bogotá.
“We have to improve; everything is wrong: healthcare, corruption, the economy, and insecurity," she told The Associated Press.
Petro is ineligible for reelection because the constitution bars a sitting president from running for a consecutive second term.
Under Petro’s government, Congress has become more of a counterweight to his policies, a departure from the past, when the legislature tended to be aligned with the president.
Colombia's current Congress approved Petro’s pension and labor overhaul, but rejected his proposed health care and tax reforms, and there were often tensions between him and lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the right-wing opposition is looking to reclaim its status as a dominant political force. The Democratic Center, the nation’s primary opposition party, has been influenced by former President Álvaro Uribe, who is mobilizing his base to secure a strong legislative presence ahead of the presidential vote.
Alongside the congressional vote, Colombians voted to choose presidential candidates for the country's three major political blocs: the center, the center-left and the right. The winners of the three “interparty consultations," similar to American primary elections, will go on to compete in the presidential election, whose first round is set for May 31.
More than 6 million people voted in the presidential primaries that featured 16 candidates.
The right-wing primary garnered the most votes, with more than 82% of the electorate participating, according to the National Registry, which reported over 92% of the votes counted. The winner in that bloc was Paloma Valencia, candidate of the main opposition party, Democratic Center.
Meanwhile, in the center bloc, former Bogota mayor Claudia López won after competing against a relatively unknown lawyer. And in the center-left, the former ambassador to the United Kingdom, Roy Barreras, won. He was competing primarily with former mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero.
Lorena Balcazar, a 32-year-old voter, lamented that polarization could influence Sunday's elections: “Many people are dissatisfied with this government; they want to vote for the same people as before, but those same people aren’t convincing either."
A high-stakes gamble
Presidential hopefuls have long used the primaries to gauge their support before entering the first round of voting. This strategy proved successful four years ago for Petro, who consolidated his base by winning the left-wing primary alongside Francia Márquez, who became his vice president.
However, the two candidates currently leading in the polls — Iván Cepeda, from Petro’s party, and far-right Abelardo de la Espriella — are not participating in the primaries, which are optional.
Political analyst Gabriel Cifuentes said the primaries are a high-stakes gamble for the participants, noting that a victory on Sunday is only meaningful if it demonstrates enough strength to compete with the leading candidates, such as Cepeda and de la Espriella.
“Whether (Paloma) Valencia can become a viable candidate will depend heavily on the vice-presidential running mate she secures, because she needs to take votes away from de la Espriella,” Javier Garay, a professor at Externado University of Colombia, told The Associated Press.
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