Left eyes historic presidential win as Colombians vote for ‘change’
The Hindu
Opinion polls show that many Colombians are pinning their hopes on Gustavo Petro, an ex-guerrilla and former mayor of Bogota
Colombians headed to the polls on May 29 in a first round of presidential elections with a leftist poised for victory for the first time ever, as voters clamor for “change.”
Polls opened at 8 a.m (1300 GMT) amid a tense atmosphere, a year after a brutal security crackdown on street protests fueled by deepening socioeconomic woes.
Opinion polls show that many Colombians are pinning their hopes on Gustavo Petro, an ex-guerrilla and former mayor of Bogota, to address poverty, rural violence, urban crime and endemic corruption in a country historically governed by the right.
“For many years the people who have run the country have torn it apart. We must change,” said security guard Luis Hernan Alvarez, 59, who intends to vote for Mr. Petro in the capital Bogota, where rain greeted early voters.
“There is too much poverty. There are resources, but they are lost to corruption... We need new leaders,” he told AFP.
About 39 million of Colombia’s 50 million people are eligible to cast their ballot, though the recent abstention rate has been high, at around 50%.
About 300,000 armed police and soldiers were deployed to keep the peace, as voters headed to some 12,000 polling stations countrywide under the watchful eye of observers from the Organization of American States and the European Union.
With a new government in place in Delhi, Singapore hopes to schedule the Ministerial Roundtable with India shortly, says Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. In an exclusive interview, he speaks about the impact of the elections on ties, the “missed opportunity” of RCEP and the new buzz around Andhra Pradesh’s capital Amaravati.