Former guerrilla Gustavo Petro wins presidential elections in Colombia

A former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement, leftist Gustavo Petro, has won the presidential elections in Colombia on Sunday. He had vowed to bring social and economic change. In the history of the country, Petro is the first progressive to achieve the feat. With a wide margin of 719,975 votes, 62-year-old Petro, who is a former mayor of capital Bogota, won against construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez. In the polling carried out ahead of the vote, the two were technically tied. Petro got 50.5% votes while Hernandez bagged 47.3%.

In a short video on social media, Hernandez accepted his defeat and said, "As I said during the campaign, I accept the results of this election."

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Petro, who is currently a senator, has vowed to fight inequality with pension reforms, free university education and high taxes on unproductive land. He also looks to come up with a ban on new oil projects. Petro seems to have been tortured by the military when he was detained for involvement with the guerrillas.

The running mate of Petro, Francia Marquez, will become the first Afro-Colombian woman vice-president. She is a single mother and former housekeeper.

(With inputs from agencies)

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