Colombia's Presidential Election Heads to Runoff
Image credit: AFP/Getty Images [via Wall Street Journal]
The Facts
- Colombia's presidential election will head for a runoff election after preliminary results on Sun. showed that no candidate had received the 50% of votes needed to win.
- With 99% of votes counted, early results showed leftist Gustavo Petro with 40.3% of votes, and right-wing anti-corruption populist Rodolfo Hernández with 28.2%.
- This is a historic blow to the establishment candidate, Federico Gutiérrez, who lost to Hernández by more than four percentage points. He had been polling in second place and was endorsed by current Pres. Iván Duque.
Sources Split
LEFT
CENTER
RIGHT
ESTAB
CRIT
CENTER
PRO
ESTAB
The Spin
Left narrative
Hernández's unexpected triumph over Gutiérrez is a victory against the establishment and evidence that Colombia is hungry to elect anyone who isn't represented by the country's mainstream conservative leaders. The country needs change, which is exactly what Petro is offering.
Right narrative
While Colombia does need change, it can't afford the "leap in the dark" that Petro represents. Gutiérrez had been Colombia's best chance of keeping Petro out of power, but that responsibility now falls on Hernández.