Colombia election: Leftist Gustavo Petro wins first round of presidential vote
Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Petro, a former Bogota mayor, has won the first round of the presidential votes in the Colombian election. The 62-year-old has secured 40.3 per cent votes and now has a shot at becoming Colombia's first-ever leftist president.
Trailing behind Petro in second place is surprise contender and businessman Rodolfo Hernandez, with 28 per cent of the votes.
The second round of voting, which will take place on June 19, will decide who will emerge victorious.
Hernandez, a 77-year-old millionaire and himself an ex-mayor, ran on an anti-corruption platform and edged out right-winger Federico Gutierrez, a former mayor of the second city Medellin.
Petro, who is a former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement, has vowed "real change" if elected, and promised to pursue "social justice and economic stability."
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"A company cannot grow if society is impoverished. Profits cannot grow sustainably if the majority of the population (suffers from) hunger," he said.
Hernandez's late surge has complicated Petro's road to the presidency, according to political analysts.
"We do not want to lose the country and we will not put at risk the future of Colombia, of our families, our children," Gutierrez said.
Also see |'Polarised election': Bogota voters weigh presidential options
Over 8.5 million Colombians clamoring for "change" voted for Petro, while Hernandez, who is not aligned to a political party, garnered 5.9 million votes.
In the 2018 presidential election, Ivan Duque had defeated Petro but is now leaving office with record disapproval numbers after a constitutionally limited single, four-year term.
According to the World Bank, approximately 40 percent of Colombia's 50 million people live in poverty, and the country has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world.
(With inputs from agencies)
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