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Colombians vote in first round of presidential election Colombia's President Santos to face Zuluaga in run-off vote
(about 4 hours later)
Voters in Colombia are taking part in the first round of a presidential poll widely seen as a referendum on whether to continue peace talks with rebels. Official results from Colombia's presidential election say the incumbent President Juan Manuel Santos will face his main rival, Oscar Zuluaga, in a run-off next month.
President Juan Manuel Santos, who is seeking another four-year term, says negotiations with the Farc are the best way to end the country's civil war. Neither of the two centre-right candidates secured more than 50% of votes, needed to avoid a second round.
His main rival, Oscar Zuluaga, a former cabinet colleague, says he wants to take a tougher line. The election could decide whether peace talks with Farc rebels will continue.
An estimated 220,000 people have been killed in the 50-year rebel insurgency. Mr Santos supports them as the best way to end Colombia's 50-year civil war, but Mr Zuluaga prefers a tougher line.
The peace process, hosted by Cuba, seeks to end the conflict, which has also displaced more than five million people since it erupted in 1964. With 99.57% of the votes counted, Mr Zuluaga won the first round with 29.27%, followed by Mr Santos with 25.63%. The other three candidates trailed at least 10 percentage points behind.
Correspondents say the battle between the two centre-right candidates is likely to go to a run-off next month. Mr Zuluaga needed 50% plus 1 vote to win outright, and will now face Mr Santos, who finished second, in a June 15 run-off election.
Mr Santos and Mr Zuluaga are running neck-and-neck in a field of five candidates, but none of the other three has gained more than 10% in any opinion poll. Correspondents say that, although Mr Santos has presided over one of Latin America's fastest-growing economies, support for his re-election had fallen especially among poor Colombians who have not benefitted as much from the economic boom.
Security Differences
In a recent poll, Colombians listed their three main concerns as unemployment, health and security. Both conservative candidates were once cabinet colleagues under former President Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010), when they backed a free trade agreement and close anti-narcotics cooperation with the United States.
Nonetheless, President Santos's campaign has concentrated on the issue of security, namely the peace talks with the Farc, Colombia's largest rebel group, which the president started in 2012. But they differ on how to manage an 18-month peace process with the Farc, Colombia's largest rebel group, a process which President Santos began in 2012.
Mr Santos has said he hopes to sign a peace treaty with left-wing rebels this year. He has said he hopes to sign a peace treaty with the left-wing rebels this year.
But his main challenger, Mr Zuluaga, has dismissed the talks as pandering to terrorists and suggested he would scrap them in favour of tougher military campaigns. But his main challenger, who has the support of Mr Uribe, has dismissed the talks as pandering to terrorists and suggested he would scrap them in favour of tougher military campaigns.
The peace negotiations have so far yielded agreements on three items of a six-point agenda, including on the illegal drug trade.The peace negotiations have so far yielded agreements on three items of a six-point agenda, including on the illegal drug trade.
On 16 May, the Colombian government and the Farc, which controls large areas of rural Colombia, agreed to eliminate all illicit drug production in the country should a final peace deal be reached.On 16 May, the Colombian government and the Farc, which controls large areas of rural Colombia, agreed to eliminate all illicit drug production in the country should a final peace deal be reached.
The peace process, hosted by Cuba, seeks to end Latin America's longest running conflict.
An estimated 220,000 people have been killed and more than five million others have been displaced since it erupted in 1964.