(Bogota) Voting for the second round of the presidential election, which will decide between left-wing opponent Gustavo Petro and independent businessman Rodolfo Hernandez, began Sunday morning in Colombia, AFP noted.
Posted at 9:24 a.m.
Incumbent conservative President Ivan Duque, who cannot run again, cast his ballot near the presidency in Bogota, marking the official start of the polls.
“Colombia is choosing between two proposals for change. Whoever wins at the ballot box, the country will experience a great change” at the end of this “historic day”, headlined the daily newspaper on Sunday morning. El Tiempo.
“These elections are the tightest in the recent history of the country”, also summed up the online media Cambio, while the latest polls published a week ago gave the two candidates almost equal at the end of a particularly warlike.
Nearly 39 million voters are expected between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time (1 p.m. 9 p.m. GMT) in 12,500 polling stations to decide between MM. Petro and Hernandez, who both campaigned on the theme of change and breaking with the conservative and liberal elites that have always ruled the country.
Photo LUISA GONZALEZ, archives REUTERS
Nearly 320,000 police and soldiers will provide security for the poll, under the watchful eye of many international observers.
Nearly 320,000 police and soldiers will provide security for the poll, under the watchful eye of many international observers. As in the first round, which took place calmly, the results are expected in the evening.
The hypothesis of a too tight result has worried in recent days, raising fears of possible overflows, as well as accusations of fraud, while Mr. Petro has repeatedly expressed his doubts about the software used for the count after errors against him in the March legislative elections (won by his camp).