Colombia braces for June runoff as outsider and leftist edge into final pace

With 99% of ballots counted, Abelardo de la Espriella led around 43% and Ivan Cepeda about 40%, neither reaching 50% to avoid a second round, setting up a June 21 runoff. De la Espriella campsaigned as a hardline security outsider promising aggressive crime-fighting and even megaprison construction, while Cepeda—a veteran leftist senator aligned with outgoing president Petro and the Total Peace policy—advocates negotiated solutions to Colombia’s decades-long conflict.