MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Right wing candidate has a clear lead in Colombia's Sunday presidential runoff

The Yanhass poll shows Iván Duque is leading in all age groups, except with young people between ages 18 to 24, who showed a preference for Petro

As the campaign for Colombia's presidential runoff on June 17 enters its final week, the latest poll by consulting firm Yanhass for five newspapers, has right-wing candidate Iván Duque, as the clear winner with 52% of voting intention, compared to 34% for the leftist candidate Gustavo Petro.

 Called the Gran Encuesta Elecciones 2018 (Great Elections Survey 2018), the poll also reveals that 14% of the electorate will cast a blank vote.

The Yanhass poll is the first since Duque and Petro made it to the second round after the May 27 elections. The YanHaas polls also shows that Iván Duque is leading in all age groups, except with young people between ages 18 to 24, who showed a preference for Petro (45%) over Duque (41%).

Among voters 25 to 34, Duque is ahead with 45%, compared to 39% for Petro. Among Colombians over 55 years of age, Duque surges ahead with 60% of voting intention compared to Petro with 25%.

The latest poll also shows that the Colombian capital, Bogotá, remains divided, with the former mayor leading with 43% of votes over Duque with 39%. In the coffee departments of Quindío, Risaralda and Caldas, Duque wins by a wide margin (72% versus 17%), while in the departments of the Caribbean coast, Petro has the advantage (54% versus 39%). (Bogotá, the City Paper)