COLOMBIA went to the polls today in a presidential runoff between a progressive and far-right candidate.

Over 41 million eligible voters will choose between Ivan Cepeda, a politician and heir to the political movement of outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro, and businessman and lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella.

The two defeated nine other contenders in a May 31 vote, with Mr Cepeda earning 41 per cent of the vote, and Mr de la Espriella 44 per cent, according to official results.

Both are pitching strategies that they say will prevent the South American country from experiencing the horrific levels of violence that Colombians lived with in previous decades.

Mr de la Espriella is proposing a heavy-handed approach that has earned him the endorsement of flailing US President Donald Trump.

Mr Cepeda, however, has promised to continue Mr Petro’s peaceful efforts, including attempts at establishing dialogue with multiple armed groups.

The two candidates are also offering differing approaches for the country’s struggling health system, ballooning public debt and corruption.

The election comes 10 years after Colombia signed a historic peace agreement with guerillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) that had offered hope to break the nation’s vicious conflict.

But violence has since roared back, particularly as most rebel groups abandoned their ideologically driven fight for the financial benefits of drug trafficking.

Last year, authorities recorded 14,780 homicides, the most since at least 2015 and driven by clashes among armed groups. Among those killed was conservative presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe.

Extortions have also soared, reaching 13,417 cases in 2025, more than double the number tallied in 2015.

Mr de la Espriella, a political newcomer nicknamed “the tiger,” has promised to fiercely go after criminals and build 10 mega-prisons, emulating the policies of El Salvador’s free-market fundamentalist President Nayib Bukele, which have been condemned by many human rights organisations.

Mr Cepeda wants to carry on Mr Petro’s signature plan to achieve peace by negotiating with guerillas and criminal gangs.