Continuity or change? What to know about Colombia’s run-off election

Voters in Colombia are preparing to head to the polls for the second time in less than a month to decide who will be the South American country’s next president. But the two candidates competing in Sunday’s run-off offer starkly differing visions for the country’s future. One candidate, left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda, has pledged continuity with the government of outgoing President Gustavo Petro , who championed anti-poverty measures and negotiations with the country’s armed groups. The other, far-right outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, has promised a break from establishment politics, including a swerve away from negotiated solutions and towards more military-led responses to crime and violence. De la Espriella emerged with a small advantage over Cepeda in the first round of voting on May 31, earning 43 percent of the vote compared with the senator’s 40 percent. Margins are once again tight going into the second round, but pre-election polls show de la Espriella  ahead of Cepeda. Who are the two candidates, what issues are animating the election, and what can we expect during the second round of voting? We answer those questions and more in this brief explainer. Cepeda had been leading in the pre-election polls ahead of the May 31 general election.