Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas Monday announced they would enforce a ceasefire during the upcoming presidential elections, in what has been perceived as a step towards peace talks with the future administration.
The specter of assassination is again haunting the electoral campaign in Colombia, where a left-wing candidate has a real chance of becoming president for the first time in a country that has a history of political careers ending in a hail of bullets.
The Colombian left-wing candidate, Gustavo Preto and with the most chances of becoming the next president on 29 May, has signed before a public notary a document saying that he will not expropriate private companies or assets.
Colombian voters have taken a turn for the left following Sunday's historic support for Senator Gustavo Petro, who has been singled out in recent polls as the favorite to win the May 29 presidential elections.
In less than a month, on 13th March, Colombians will be going to the polls to renew the Legislative, and according to the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, there have been 163 victims of political violence, including 19 candidates and politicians who have been murdered in the last twelve months.
Ingrid Betancourt, a politician who was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas while campaigning for the presidency and held hostage for six years, Tuesday announced she would run again.
Right-wing candidate Ivan Duque and leftist Gustavo Petro will lead their respective coalitions in Colombia’s May presidential election after winning primaries on Sunday. Duque, a protégé of former President Alvaro Uribe and the standard bearer for the Democratic Center party, beat fellow candidates Marta Lucia Ramirez and Alejandro Ordonez for his coalition’s nomination. He got more than 3.9 million votes and 96% of the votes counted.