This Sunday at 8:00 AM (3:00 PM in mainland Spain) the first round of presidential elections in Colombia have begun, in which Iván Cepeda, a left-wing figure, and Abelardo de la Espriella, a right-wing representative, are the main contenders.
According to the Registrar's Office, 41,421,973 eligible citizens are called to the polls. Of these, nearly 40 million can exercise their right to vote within the country, while 1.4 million Colombians residing abroad have been casting their votes for a week.
There are 14 presidential tickets on the ballot, although two of them have withdrawn from the race after joining other campaigns: those of Carlos Caicedo and Nelson Javier Alarcón, and that of Luis Gilberto Murillo and Luz María Zapata Zapata. The polling stations are scheduled to close at 4:00 PM (9:00 PM in mainland Spain) and, as usual, a border closure and a dry law, which prohibits the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, have been in effect since 6:00 PM on Saturday.
With the aim of securing the day and minimizing any attempt at fraud or disruption of public order, the Attorney General's Office has reported the deployment of more than 10,000 Public Ministry officials, while the Ministry of Defense has extraordinarily reinforced the security measures.
"408,000 men and women of the Public Force will be deployed throughout the national territory to protect Colombians, prevent crime, and guarantee security in each region during the electoral day," the Ministry has highlighted.