Colombians vote in elections seen as test for peace deal

Felipe Botero, political scientist at the University of the Andes, said resurgent conservatives could even let the laws implementing the deal lapse, to the extent that they “are never voted on or not presented” to the new Congress.

– Party primaries –

With Santos stepping down as president after two terms, a sideshow to the legislative elections is the primary elections for both main political blocs, taking place at the same time.

The first round of the presidential election is set for May 27, with the run-off planned for June 17.

Current polls show conservative Ivan Duque, a former Bogota mayor who is planning to run for Uribe’s Centro Democratico party, leading the presidential race.

Duque is followed by leftist Gustavo Petro — who is seeking to become the first left-wing president in Colombia’s history — and former Medellin mayor Sergio Fajardo, a centrist candidate.

The vote takes place against the backdrop of economic concern in Colombia, which registered 1.8 percent growth in 2017, its weakest for nearly a decade.

Neighboring Venezuelans have added new pressure, arriving en masse as they flee an economic and humanitarian crisis in their own country.

More than 36 million people are eligible to vote in the election, though traditionally abstentionism hovers around 60 percent.