Iván Cepeda speaks from the headquarters of the Democratic Pole in Bogotá on October 26, 2026. Photo: Sergio Acero/El País.
In a historic day of internal consultation in Colombia, the governing Historic Pact coalition’s presidential candidate for next year’s general elections was chosen. Colombian Senator Iván Cepeda was confirmed as the winner of the process, with a lead that is now irreversible, according to reports from the National Registry, the institution in charge of organizing the primaries.
With a 36-point lead over the second-highest-voted candidate, Carolina Corcho, Cepeda is confirmed as the candidate of the Historic Pact coalition. The coalition includes the Democratic Pole, the Patriotic Union, the Colombian Communist Party, and other political groups.
With a total of 15,958 polling stations processed out of over 19,000 and a total of almost 2.8 million voters, according to the latest figures provided by the Registry, Senator Cepeda has garnered 65.1% of the vote, surpassing 1.5 million votes. Former Health Minister Corcho received the support of 28.7% of the electorate, as reported by El País.
The coalition reached nearly 2.8 million voters, almost the same number as its Senate list in 2022, an achievement in a referendum with little visibility outside the political sphere.
Cepeda has announced a campaign of proposals, not insults. Meanwhile, Corcho will lead the Senate list. The candidates for Congress have also been defined at the polls. The most voted candidates will comprise the lists for the upper house and the House of Representatives in each department and Bogotá, implementing parity and gender alternation.
After the results were announced, Colombian President Gustavo Petro celebrated the results with a message on social media: “Democracy prevails, and we must obey it. The people have freely chosen. Now, it is up to Colombian society to decide what to do, whether backwards or forward.”
Despite all the sabotage confirmed throughout the day, with numerous flaws reported during the voting process, the left-wing coalition received broad popular support, reflected in the massive voter turnout.
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In a meeting with supporters of the Historic Pact after the initial irreversible results were announced, the now-presidential candidate thanked the more than two million Colombians who voted.
He specifically expressed his gratitude to the peasants, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities, and working-class neighborhoods who were able to vote despite all the difficulties the Registry reported during the elections.
Cepeda emphasized that these elections reaffirmed the Historic Pact as the most thriving force for democracy in the country: “We have demonstrated that we are a fundamentally democratic force, one that is not afraid of democracy and has prevailed with the citizens at the polls.” He expressed his gratitude to the people who have been victims of violence in Colombia. He also thanked President Petro, his coalition partners, and his team.
“We have all the conditions to pursue a second progressive government in Colombia,” he added, adding, “We have a programmatic proposal entitled The Three Revolutions for a Colombia as a World Power.”
“I am not going to go to debates to insult other candidates or threaten each other. Challenges, ideas, concepts of the country, and not threats against people, much less against President Gustavo Petro,” Cepeda said.
He urged other like-minded political forces seeking social change in Colombia to build a broad front that will win the elections, build genuine peace, and advance social reforms.
(Últimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
