The Partido de La U Tuesday elected former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos as president of the party.
A group of 54 congressmen from the party signed a proposition that Santos assume the party’s leadership.
The proposal follows the resignation of former party leader Luis Carlos Restrepo in October.
Santos resigned as defense minister earlier this year in order to be allowed to run for the presidency, but repeatedly said he would only do so if the president was not willing or able to run for a third term.