Colombia’s polls are now open for the election of the country’s new president. The polling places were opened this Sunday (29) and the expectation is that more than 39 million voters will participate in the election.
The next Colombian chief executive will be in office between 2022 and 2026.
In this first round of voting, six candidates will compete. If neither of them obtains a simple majority of votes, the two most voted will face each other again on June 19.
On social media, the official page of the National Civil Registry of Colombia announced the opening of the polls. “In complete normalcy, the polls were opened for the 2022 presidential and vice president elections,” reads the message.
#Attention | In total normality, the polls were opened for the 2022 presidential and vice president elections.
Consult your voting point in the following link ➡️ https://t.co/KuoQ0mcKlE pic.twitter.com/XczPPPW9Bw
— National Registry of Civil Status (@Registraduria) May 29, 2022
According to the main electoral polls, the dispute should extend to the second round, when Iván Duque’s successor will be defined.
The dispute focuses on three main candidates: the leader of the left, Gustavo Petro; the representative of the Colombian right, Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez and Rodolfo Hernández, businessman from the Piedecuesta region.
Due to the fact that voting is not mandatory in the country, the state grants benefits to voters who participated in the election, such as half a day off with pay and discounts on passport processing.
who are the favorites
Gustavo Petro
A leader of the left, Petro is recognized as a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group (April 19 Movement), demobilized in the 1990s. His militant past made the public life of the first place controversial.
Born in the municipality of Ciénaga de Oro, in the department of Córdoba, on the Caribbean coast, in 1960, he entered public life at a young age, at the age of 21, as a municipal councilor, a sort of councilor. It was also at this time that he approached the M-19.
This year’s election is Petro’s third bid for the presidential seat. Previously, the candidate was a senator and mayor of the Colombian capital, Bogotá.
Federico “Fico” Gutierrez
Representative of the Colombian right, Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez focused his campaign on “preserving democracy and liberties”, on security-related issues and on criticism of Gustavo Petro.
The youngest of the six candidates, aged 48, was perfect from the city of Medellin before running for president. He ended his term with an 82% approval rating, according to the Invame poll.
He was born in Medellín, Antioquia, and grew up in Belén – a lower-middle class neighborhood in Medellín. He studied Civil Engineering at the University of Medellín and is a specialist in Senior Management and Political Science at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana.
Rodolfo Hernández
With a beginning of political life full of controversies, the third place in Colombia’s presidential elections calls himself “Engineer Rodolfo Hernández”.
Born in Piedecuesta, in the department of Santander, in 1945, he is a businessman in the same region, located in the northeast of Colombia.
In 1992 he was elected councilor, but, without any satisfaction, he never took office. Years later, in 2016, he was elected mayor, although he did not complete the term due to a series of disciplinary sanctions imposed by the Attorney General of Colombia due to scandals. THE CNN contacted Hernández’s representatives about the events, but received no response.
*With information from Renata Souza, from CNN
Source: CNN Brasil
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