politics
Ivan Cepeda to face Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia runoff election
Senator Ivan Cepeda will contest the June 2026 presidential runoff against Abelardo de la Espriella after finishing second in the first round. Cepeda secured the Historic Pact nomination and has pledged to expand social programs and agrarian reforms begun under outgoing President Gustavo Petro.
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Senator Ivan Cepeda will face Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia's June 2026 presidential runoff after placing second in the first round. De la Espriella received 43 percent of the vote; Cepeda advanced as the Historic Pact nominee. Cepeda, 63, announced his candidacy in August 2025.
He has promised to deepen social policies and agrarian reforms while maintaining continuity with the administration of President Gustavo Petro, who is term-limited.
Cepeda's father, Manuel Cepeda, a senator for the Patriotic Union party, was assassinated in 1994. Cepeda has spent subsequent decades advocating for victims of Colombia's armed conflict and was elected to Congress in 2010. Cepeda won the Historic Pact primary in October 2025.
Campaign positions and opponents Cepeda has said he wants reforms "not only to be deepened and consolidated, but also for them to go further." His opponent, lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, has no prior elected office and has campaigned on a hardline security platform. De la Espriella has accused Cepeda, without evidence, of past FARC ties. Cepeda has rejected the claim.
