Colombia's left picks Ivan Cepeda as 2026 presidential candidate

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October 26, 2025 7:40 PM EDT

FILE PHOTO: Plaintiff Senator Ivan Cepeda speaks to the media, after a judge found former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe guilty of abuse of process and bribery of a public official, in Bogota, Colombia July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombian Senator Ivan Cepeda was elected to be the left's 2026 presidential candidate on Sunday after a primary vote by the Historic Pact, a leftist coalition that brought the country's current president, Gustavo Petro, to power in 2022.

Cepeda, 63, won the Historic Pact's primary with 1.02 million votes (64.4%), surpassing former Health Minister Carolina Corcho, who received 472,062 votes (29.5%), with 88% of votes tallied.

The turnout was low, considering the potential 41.2 million voters, reported by the National Civil Registry. Registered voters are allowed to vote in any primary.

The Electoral Council must decide in the coming weeks whether Cepeda will be able to participate in another interparty referendum in March 2026, in which other politicians will compete in search of a candidate who represents a broader segment of the left and center.

Most political parties will hold their primaries in March, alongside legislative elections. Colombians will go to the polls in May to elect Petro's successor, and if necessary, a runoff will be held in June.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Alexander Villegas; Editing by Nelson Bocanegra and Leslie Adler)


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