Colombia’s election race became a lot clearer over the weekend as former President Alvaro Uribe announced his candidate and Medellin’s centrist former mayor received the support of two rivals.
The closed Democratic Center party primary chose Senator Ivan Duque to run the race for Uribe’s hard right opposition party Democratic Center.
Bogota senators Claudia Lopez (Green Alliance) and Jorge Robledo (Democratic Pole) formally endorsed their political ally, the leading candidate in the center, Sergio Fajardo.
Both Fajardo and Duque are dynasty politicians from Antioquia. Voters in the capital Medellin will choose between two relatively popular politicians.
Former Bogota Mayor Clara Rojas said she endorsed Gustavo Petro. This former guerrilla and Bogota mayor is second in the race for the first election round in May next year.
The latest endorsements have strengthened the chances of Fajardo, whose allies can count on loyal support from the capital.
Colombia’s most important election candidates ahead of
Duque has only just received the unequivocal endorsement of former President Alvaro Uribe who has remained solid support among the country’s most conservative.
A number of staunchly conservative candidates are still running. They are expected to endorse Duque later on in the race.
The traditional political powerhouses, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, are also still in the race with Humberto de la Calle and Marta Lucia Ramirez respectively.
Former VP German Vargas, a powerful member of a traditional Liberal Party dynasty, has independently tried to appeal to a more conservative voter base.
The two main talking points during the elections are an ongoing peace process with FARC guerrillas and widespread government corruption.