AMERICA/COLOMBIA - The results of the legislative elections reveal new trends ahead of the presidential elections

Wednesday, 18 March 2026 politics elections geopolitics

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by Cosimo Graziani

Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - Elections for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate were held in Colombia on March 8. The results of these elections, which allowed parties to nominate their presidential candidates, provide interesting data for the upcoming presidential elections on May 31.
The "Pacto Histórico" party, which supports President Gustavo Pedro, emerged victorious, receiving 22.7% of the vote. It holds 25 of the 103 seats in the Senate, five more than in the last elections in 2022. The second-largest party, which won the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies, was the Centro Democrático, a right-wing party founded in 2013 and led by former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, who governed Colombia from 2002 to 2010. Despite winning the Senate, the party of current President Gustavo Pedro, meanwhile, only managed fifth place in the Chamber of Deputies, behind other liberal and right-wing parties. This suggests political instability for the next president.
Alongside the parliamentary elections, some parties also held primary elections to determine their candidates for the presidential elections in May. Paloma Valencia will therefore run as the Centro Democrático's presidential candidate. Given the results of the parliamentary elections, she could become the main rival of the candidate of the Pacto Histórico party, whose candidate, Iván Cepeda, did not receive the primary nomination.
Other candidates who were selected through primaries include Claudia Lopez, the former mayor of Bogotá, who is running for a centrist coalition, and Roy Barrera, candidate of the left-wing Frente por la Vida party. Among those who will contest the general election on May 31 is Abelardo de la Espriella, a far-right candidate who endorsed the Salvación Nacional party in the parliamentary elections—even though he was not a member. Salvación Nacional won one seat in the Chamber of Deputies and four in the Senate in the parliamentary elections.
De La Espriella is a candidate who draws inspiration from US President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayid Bukele. Meanwhile, Salvación Nacional and de la Espriella are the two phenomena most closely watched in Colombian politics: After years of inactivity, the party was officially re-established in 2021. Although it failed to achieve a significant result in the 2022 parliamentary elections, it has managed over the years to attract members from other parties, including Uribe's Centro Democrático. However, the far-right candidate appears to be on track to lead the Colombian right: For weeks, polls have placed him second in the presidential elections, occupying a position that has been politically dominated by Uribe's party in recent years. His candidacy is supported by more than five million signatures. In this context, he is the politician to watch at the end of May—not only because of the number of votes he could receive, but also because of his overall influence on the elections.
The political violence of recent months has been a cause for concern in the run-up to the elections. Senator Aida Quilcué was kidnapped for several hours on a rural road in the south of the country in recent months. But kidnappings are not the only threat to politicians: On Wednesday, March 4, House of Representatives candidate María Bolívar Maury reported that she was shot while driving through the streets of Córdoba. Political assassinations have also been reported, including the attack on Miguel Uribe, nephew of the former president and himself a presidential candidate. However, the violence also affects the lowest levels of government and is perpetrated by paramilitary groups that have filled the power vacuum left by the FARC after its dissolution in 2016. Of particular concern are the small armed groups, which are harder to control in the event of a ceasefire, such as the one declared by the country's largest armed groups for the elections.
In the run-up to the presidential elections, the prospect of increased violence, especially in remote regions, therefore seems plausible. The government will have to take measures to guarantee the right to vote, as it did during the parliamentary elections, when 250,000 soldiers were deployed to protect polling stations. (Agenzia Fides, 18/3/2026)