Presidential elections were held in Colombia on 31 May 2026. Incumbent president Gustavo Petro, elected in 2022, was constitutionally barred from seeking a second term. Abelardo de la Espriella defeated Iván Cepeda by less than 1% in the run-off election held on 21 June 2026.
In the first round, de la Espriella led with 43.7% of the vote, followed by Cepeda with 40.9%. As none of the thirteen candidates obtained at least 50% of the vote in the first round, a run-off was held. The run-off was narrowly won by de la Espriella with 49.66% of the vote against 48.70% obtained by Cepeda. With 12.9 million votes, de la Espriella became the most voted presidential candidate in Colombian history. Cepeda conceded the election on 24 June 2026, and hours later, Petro – while alleging fraud and foreign interference – also recognized the results, announcing that his administration would begin the formal handover process. The election was noted for a continuing trend of right-wing victories across Latin America.
Background
In the previous presidential election in 2022, as none of the presidential nominees obtained at least 50% of the votes in the first round, a run-off was held between the top two candidates, Gustavo Petro and Rodolfo Hernández Suárez. Petro won the run-off, becoming the first left-wing candidate to be elected president of Colombia since the country's independence in 1810. The results for the second round saw the lowest record of spoiled and blank ballots in over twenty years and a turnout of 58.17%, the highest since 1998.
Since taking office, Petro and his allies have been involved in several scandals. One scandal, nicknamed "Nannygate", involved the publishing of recordings of then-ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, speaking with Petro's Chief of Staff, Laura Sarabia, about possible illegal financing and threats of revealing compromising information on campaign rivals. Both were forced to resign from their positions as a result. The scandal lowered approval of Petro, being viewed by the public as an indication of corruption inside the government. His presidential approval rating dropped to a low of 26% in July 2023 according to a Datexco survey.
In 2025, Petro fired his entire cabinet to reassess his previous choices in light of his appointment of Armando Benedetti as Chief of Staff and promotion of thirty-year-old Laura Sarabia to Foreign Minister; both were embroiled in a campaign finance scandal. His key labor and health-care reforms stalling at the legislative branch, the arrest of his son in a money laundering scandal involving campaign financing, and the scandal involving his ministers contributed to a decrease in public support for the president. However, Petro's approval ratings rebounded significantly, reaching 49% approval as recently as February 2026.
His presidency has been characterized by a progressive economic policy, including a substantial increase in the minimum wage, strengthening of the legal framework for labor rights, redistribution of land to peasants, and higher social spending. Poverty and unemployment have declined, but his opponents point to a rise in public debt. He is ending his term with an approval rating of about 50%, compared with a disapproval rating of 43%.
Electoral system
Colombian presidents are elected for four-year terms using a two-round system; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff is held between the top two candidates. The vice president is elected on the same ticket as the president. Presidents are limited to a single four-year term, and Article 191 of the constitution requires candidates to be Colombian by birth and at least thirty years old. In line with the constitution, Colombian citizens by birth or by naturalization, aged eighteen or older have the right to vote. Several scenarios can cause the loss of the right to vote, as outlined in the constitution. Citizens in detention centers can vote from the establishments determined by the National Civil Registry. The civil registry inscription is not automatic, and citizens must go to the regional office of the registry to register. Legislative Act No. 2 of 2015 established that the runner-up in the presidential elections is given a seat in the Senate and their vice president candidate becomes a member of the Chamber of Representatives.
In order to be accepted as a candidate, applicants must either have the backing of a recognized political party in order to run as their official candidate, or to collect a minimum number of signatures in order to run as an independent candidate.
Candidates
Historic Pact
Cepeda announced his candidacy in July 2025 and was considered one of the initial favorites for the presidential nomination of the Historic Pact in the polls. Cepeda initially competed against six other pre-candidates, four of whom later withdrew, leaving him to face Minister Carolina Corcho and former mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero, in the primary election.
Following his victory in the primary election in October 2025, Cepeda officially became the presidential candidate of the Historic Pact. Carolina Corcho, who received the second-highest number of votes, became the lead candidate for the Senate in the 2026 parliamentary elections in March.
After obtaining an overwhelming majority during the parliamentary election on March 8, Cepeda would announce Aida Quilcué as the candidate for vice president on Monday, March 9.
Democratic Centre
Paloma Valencia became the official candidate of the Democratic Center after winning by a wide margin among the delegates, defeating her opponent, Senator María Fernanda Cabal. Valencia also competed in the national primary election on March 8 during the 2026 parliamentary election, where she obtained a significant majority with 3,236,286 votes, surpassing her eight fellow candidates.
Valencia announced her vice-presidential candidate on Thursday, March 12, revealing Juan Daniel Oviedo, who obtained 1,255,510 votes, the second highest vote count during the national primary election.
Defenders of the Homeland
Political newcomer and lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella represents the opposition Defenders of the Motherland movement. Nicknamed "The Tiger," de la Espriella's campaign focused on security and received an endorsement from U.S. President Donald Trump. His platform included plans related to combating criminal organizations.
Declined or deceased candidates
- Francia Márquez (Soy Porque Somos), incumbent vice president
- Miguel Uribe Turbay (Democratic Centre), assassinated senator
Opinion polls
First round
2026
The CNE suspended AtlasIntel's polls (partnered with Semana) on May 19, 2026, over concerns that invalid methodologies led to biased election reporting. Specific irregularities included digital exclusion bias, model-dependent estimation, inconsistent data, quality control failures, and candidate popularity relative inflation. The ban was lifted on May 21 for procedural reasons (lack of quorum), but the technical probe remains ongoing.
2024
A poll conducted by market research firm Guarumo and Ecoanalitica in February 2025 showed conservative candidate Vicky Dávila leading with 15.1%, followed by president Petro's ally Gustavo Bolívar at 11.9%. It also showed former presidential candidate and centrist Sergio Fajardo at 11.5%. Meanwhile, 7.1% polled said that they would not vote for any of the candidates.
Another poll conducted by the National Consulting Center in March 2025, commissioned and financed by Semana magazine, showed a close lead between Dávila with 13.6% and Fajardo with 13.4%, as well as Bolívar at 10.1%. The poll also showed Fajardo leading the voting intention with 35.1% against Dávila's 31.7% in a run-off.
Hypothetical polling
This section shows opinion polls for hypothetical second-round match-ups. Results include voting intentions, with undecided/non-voters not explicitly broken out in the poll.
Results
Results from the first round indicated that National Salvation candidate Abelardo de la Espriella led in first place, a contrast to opinion polls which suggested a lead for the Historic Pact candidate Iván Cepeda. Espriella won 43.7% of the popular vote, while Cepeda followed with 40.9% of the vote. Democratic Centre candidate Paloma Valencia took third place with 6.9% of the popular vote, also underperforming opinion polls that suggested higher vote percentages for Valencia. Sergio Fajardo and other candidates received 6.7% of the vote, while blank votes represented 1.73% of the vote.
The second round saw a high turnout of 63.6%, with Espriella winning with a percentage of 49.66% over Cepeda's percentage of 48.7%, a gap of roughly 250,000 votes. Espriella's support in the second round primarily dominated in the diaspora and in the inner departments of Colombia, while Cepeda's support was concentrated in Bogotá and the outer departments. Espriella was confirmed as the winner of the election by the National Electoral Council on 24 June 2026.
Aftermath and reactions
First round
Flávio Bolsonaro, a Brazilian senator and a son of Jair Bolsonaro, held a call with Espriella to endorse him. The day after the first-round election results were completed, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a long statement on Truth Social congratulating and endorsing Espriella, saying that "Espriella is a man who will fight, work, and care for his country, just like me." On 29 May 2026, Ecuadorean president Daniel Noboa met with Abelardo de la Espriella, and said he was committed to "jointly fight narcoterrorism", and would eliminate a security tax on 1 June. In response, the Colombian government led by Petro called the measure "deliberate interference" in the election.
Second round
Preliminary results showed de la Espriella winning the election by less than 1 percent. Petro did not accept those results, while Cepeda recognized them but emphasized their non-binding character, with both saying they would wait for the results of the thorough counting of votes (escrutinio). Al Jazeera ascribed Petro's distrust in preliminary results to the 2022 parliamentary election, in which then-coalition of parties Historic Pact recovered about 500 thousand votes in the result of the escrutinio compared to preliminary results. Al Jazeera also noted that the National Civil Registry recorded high accuracy in the preliminary results of the 2026 parliamentary election and in the first round of the 2026 presidential election. Authorities finished the recount which reaffirmed the results before declaring de la Espriella’s victory on 25 June 2026. Cepeda thereafter conceded the elections reaffirming he would be constructive opposition to de la Espriella, saying "I have decided to accept the result of this process, which indicates that Abelardo de la Espriella is the new president of the Republic."
Right-wing Medellín mayor and third place candidate in the 2022 presidential election, Federico Gutiérrez congratulated Espriella and his running mate saying that "as the mayor of Medellin, I am ready to work with Espriella and his running mate into bringing Colombia forward." Democratic Centre politician and Petro's Presidential predecessor Iván Duque congratulated Espriella and his running mate wishing them success for their administration while also thanking the National Registry for 'free and fair and transparent elections'. Democratic Center leader and former president Álvaro Uribe described Espriella and his running mate as "doctors", and also expressed confidence that Espriella will establish a government of "democratic recovery" that "will benefit all Colombians", while also describing Cepeda's campaign as "illegal, with the support of Gustavo Petro". Uribe also issued claims of vote buying, and "the imposition of narcoterrorist groups that forced many communities to vote for Cepeda". Uribe also stated that "we cannot allow any more dirty tricks from the Petroist-Chavistas".
de la Espriella was congratulated by U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as by Latin American presidents such as Argentina's Javier Milei, Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, Chile's José Antonio Kast, Bolivia's Rodrigo Paz, the Dominican Republic's Luis Abinader, Paraguay's Santiago Peña, and Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar. Nate Morris, President Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Colombia, commented that he looked forward to working with de la Espriella to advance Trump’s agenda in Colombia. The EU congratulated De la Espriella on his victory in Colombia, highlighted the peaceful elections with record participation, and offered to strengthen bilateral cooperation.