Early voting in Colombia’s presidential elections begins this Monday for Colombian citizens living abroad, the country’s National Civil Registrar (NCR) announced.
1,890 polling stations in 64 countries
Colombians residing abroad may start voting as of Monday in the second round of presidential elections being contested between incumbent Juan Manuel Santos and challenger Oscar Ivan Zuluaga. The period will be extended throughout the week, according to the NCR, in charge of voting operations.
Este 9 de junio inician votaciones para colombianos residentes en el exterior para la segunda vuelta presidencial http://t.co/xYmlRpqd4M
— Registraduría (@Registraduria) June 6, 2014
A total of 559,952 Colombians registered with their embassies and consulates are eligible to vote in the second round of the presidential elections to be held on June 15.
1,890 polling stations are spread over 64 countries throughout the world where Colombia has embassies and consulates.
The state of the race
Oscar Ivan Zuluaga of the Democratic Center (Centro Democratico) party, swept to victory during the first round of the presidential elections with 29% of the vote, ahead of Santos’ 25%, although he was still short of the 50% majority needed to secure the presidency.
The two candidates will face each other on Sunday, June 15, although the result hangs in the balance and recently released polls do not give a clear indication of who the eventual winner may be.
MORE: Colombia polls release contradictory predictions on election outcome
According to a poll by Cifras y Conceptos, incumbent President Santos is the clear favorite to win the elections on June 15 ahead of his rival, hard-line candidate Zuluaga.
However, two polls released only hours before reported conflicting outcomes; According to a Ipsos Napoleon Franco poll, Zuluaga is set to become Colombia’s next president while US pollster Gallup said that the race between the electoral rivals is tied.
According to Cifras y Conceptos, Zuluaga’s rise in the weeks leading up to the first round of the election held on May 25 has been curbed, while Santos has been favored by the exit of three defeated presidential hopefuls, in the first round of the elections.
Sources
- Este lunes 9 de junio inician las votaciones para los colombianos residentes en el exterior para la segunda vuelta de elección presidencial (Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil)