Ex-mayor of Medellin Sergio Fajardo on Monday officially registered his name as Green Party presidential candidate Antanas Mockus’ running mate for the upcoming Colombian presidential election.
Mockus and Fajardo were flanked by several hundred supporters at the office of the National Registrar, who watched the inscription take place and listened to stump speeches afterwards.
Fajardo brandished a thick notebook, and read off along with Mockus the fifteen principles that comprise their campaign platform, including pledges to support education, a renewed sense of citizenship, and respect for rural cultures and traditions.
“We will win in the first runoff,” Mockus predicted, while Fajardo added that they expected to be so successful that a second runoff would not be required.
Recent polls show the duo closing the gap on Partido de la U presidential front-runner Juan Manuel Santos, trailing him by less than five points in an El Tiempo poll published on Friday.
Fajardo, initially aiming at the presidency himself, saw his support fall after his party’s disappointing results in the March congressional elections.