Colombia Voters Face May 31, 2026 Election Amid Armed Group Territorial Control Warnings

On Sunday, voters in Colombia faced a presidential choice as the first round of voting was set for May 31, 2026, with a runoff scheduled for June 21 if no candidate won more than 50 percent in the first round.

“On Sunday, voters in the South American country of Colombia are facing a choice”

Al Jazeera

Four years after electing Gustavo Petro, the race centered on whether to continue Petro’s leftist push or restore the political right to power, with the packed field including 14 candidates for the first round.

Al Jazeera

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights warned that the election would be held “in a context of multiple reports regarding the expansion and strengthening of territorial control by armed groups and criminal organizations,” and urged the state to guarantee the security of presidential candidates.

The Al Jazeera explainer said Colombia’s internal conflict forced more than 235,619 individuals from their homes in 2025, while the International Committee of the Red Cross said another 87,069 people were caught up in mass displacement events due to the fighting.

Gimena Sanchez of the Washington Office on Latin America said, “You have polar opposite visions for the country,” framing the contest as a split between continuity with Petro’s approach to negotiations and a right-wing push for a more militarised model backed by the United States.

The election campaign unfolded under repeated violence and threats, with ColombiaOne reporting that the IACHR said candidates and political leaders had been subjected to threats and acts of violence, including threats against Iván Cepeda, Abelardo de la Espriella, and Paloma Valencia.

ColombiaOne also cited the commission’s note of the kidnapping of vice-presidential candidate Aida Quilcué on February 10 and the attack against Senator Alexander López on May 20 after he participated in a political event alongside Iván Cepeda.

CBS News

CBS News reported that polls showed no candidate expected to clear the 50% threshold required to win in the first round, and said a runoff between the top two finishers was almost certain on June 21.

CBS News added that an AtlasIntel poll published last week, based on 4,531 interviews, put Cepeda leading the first round with 38.7% over de la Espriella’s 37.3%, while both candidates more than doubled Valencia’s 14.3%.

In the same CBS account, Daniel Mejía of the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota described Cepeda as having a “soft hand on not only coca cultivation, but also of organized criminal groups that are in charge of the production of cocaine.”

Beyond the vote count, the sources tied the election to what comes next for Colombia’s security direction and its relationship with the United States, with Responsible Statecraft saying the race could “radically reshape Colombia’s relations with the United States.”

Responsible Statecraft framed the contenders as offering three distinct visions, with Iván Cepeda promoting negotiations and truth and reconciliation while Abelardo de la Espriella and Paloma Valencia backed hardline security approaches including ending peace dialogues and resuming aerial fumigation of coca crops.

The same Responsible Statecraft account said the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) reported 565 acts of political violence since January 2025, and described campaign violence including the assassination of a presidential hopeful and attacks targeting candidates and campaign staff.

Le Figaro reported that Paloma Valencia supports Donald Trump and his pressure on Nicolás Maduro, and said she advocated the “iron fist” against crime and drug trafficking in a speech before her supporters in Bogotá.

With the IACHR warning of barriers to the exercise of political rights, ColombiaOne urged the state to adopt “all necessary measures to guarantee the development of the final phase of the presidential elections,” particularly the security of presidential candidates.