Following a poll that showed a sharp increase in support for Green Party presidential candidate Antanas Mockus and a decline in support for his main rival, Partido de la U candidate Juan Manuel Santos, Mockus expressed hope that he would win the May 30 elections in the first round.
The poll, conducted by the National Consultancy Center and commissioned by newscast CM&, showed voter support for Mockus jumping from 29% to 34%, while Santos’ popularity dropped by one percentage point to hover at 35%.
The same poll showed that in a second round Mockus would beat Santos with 50% to 44%.
In a response, Mockus told newspaper El Espectador he doesn’t “see the possibility of winning the elections in the first round as very remote,” adding that “if I win in the first round we save enough money to build 20 schools.”
According to Mockus, Colombians understand that “something is changing, every day and every hour.”
To win the first round of elections a candidate must get more than 50% of the vote.
No media on Thursday reported Santos’ response to the poll.