A screen shows the first exit poll results at the bunker of Colombia's presidential candidate from the ruling party Pacto Historico, Ivan Cepeda, during the presidential election in the Tequendama Hotel in Bogota on May 31, 2026. AFP
Colombia's electoral authority said right-wing hopeful Abelardo de la Espriella won 44 per cent of the vote, beating leftist favourite Ivan Cepeda with 41 per cent and a string of other candidates who trailed far behind.
It was a stronger-than-expected showing for 47-year-old De la Espriella -- a pro-Trump lawyer, singer and clothier who calls himself "The Tiger" and has billed himself as a political norm-smashing outsider.
"I will kill myself for Colombia if I need to," he said in an impassioned victory address while decked in a Colombia football jersey.
The campaign was marred by car bombs, drone attacks and the assassination of a leading presidential candidate and dozens of local political leaders.
Cepeda, who had been expected to top the vote, questioned the accuracy of initial results, but stopped short of claiming the election was rigged.
He vowed to defeat the "fascist extreme right" in the June 21 second round, linking his rival to mafiosos and plutocrats.
During a speech on Sunday, he was flanked by vice presidential candidate Aida Quilcue, who was briefly kidnapped by guerrillas during the campaign.
War and peace
Campaigning from behind bulletproof glass, De la Espriella has vowed a "shock plan" to bombard armed groups, echoing the iron-fist rhetoric that has swept the right to power across Latin America.
"We'll start immediately with the bombing of narco-terrorist camps," he told AFP in an interview during the campaign.
That message appears to have resonated.
While Colombia has thrived in the decade since a landmark peace accord with FARC guerrillas, pockets of the country are still under the grip of armed groups vying for control of cocaine routes, illegal gold mining and extortion.
Cepeda has vowed to continue efforts to negotiate peace with such armed groups -- part of outgoing President Gustavo Petro's strategy of "total peace."
Critics say the policy has given criminal groups free rein, fueling violence and record cocaine exports.
"This government really strengthened armed groups by being so soft," said Catalina Devia, a 42-year-old advertising executive and mother of two who voted for De la Espriella.
"Many Colombians are thinking about emigrating," she said.
Cepeda, 63, is the son of a leftist senator killed by right-wing paramilitaries.
He is backed by Colombia's first-ever leftist president, who is constitutionally barred from reelection, and draws support from voters who credit the government with helping the poor.
Supporters point to higher minimum wages, increased education spending and land transfers to poor communities.
There was disappointment among Cepeda supporters that he came in second.
"It leaves a bad taste," said 42-year-old cafe worker Andres Alba. "It's not anger, but it does leave a bad taste."
Gloria Terranova, a 59-year-old coffee shop owner, said she held out hope that Cepeda might still win the presidency despite finishing second in the first round.
"Right now we are at radical extremes: one side wants peace, the other wants war," she said.
But some voters expressed unease about the stark, polarised choice they now face.
"My vote is not guided by what I want, but what I fear the most," said Julian, a 37-year-old project manager. "I'm going to vote for the least worst candidate."
Despite worsening violence in the rebel-held areas, election day itself passed calmly.
Authorities deployed more than 400,000 police and soldiers nationwide to protect polling stations.
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