Colombians Head to the Polls
It's an exciting day in Colombia as citizens head to the polls to vote for a new president. The two front-runners are former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and former Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus of the Green Party.
It’s an exciting day in Colombia as citizens head to the polls to vote for a new president. The two front-runners are former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and former Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus of the Green Party.
Santos, backed by outgoing President Alvaro Uribe, had a slight lead in opinion polls going into Sunday’s voting, but the unconventional Mockus is expected to force him into a runoff election in June. –JCL
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...The BBC:
Colombians are going to the polls to vote for a new president in a contest that is expected to be close.
The popular incumbent, Alvaro Uribe, is standing down after two terms.
Former Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos, who is supported by Mr Uribe, has a slight lead in opinion polls.
However he faces a strong challenge from former Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus of the Green Party. A run-off between the two candidates is expected on 20 June.
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Colombia has a new president, Juan Manuel Santos, who was sworn in on Saturday and will immediately face a fractured diplomatic state -- Venezuela and Ecuador have severed ties with the country -- along with continuing drug violence and a long-festering rebel insurgency.
Tensions are running high, and relations running low, between Colombia and Venezuela. The latter's president, Hugo Chavez, told his generals to prepare for war, while the Colombian government announced a new base on the countries' border and activated six air battalions.
Despite profound ideological differences and a long history of fighting between the groups, the two largest Colombian guerrilla armies, the ELN and the FARC, have forged a pact to fight the country's security forces.
A new book casts an illuminating spotlight on Colombia’s guerrilla war, fueled by cocaine profits and U.S. military aid.
After weeks of embarrassing displays of political incompetence and general ignorance of current events, Sarah Palin participated in a daylong tour de force of international relations at the United Nations. Henry Kissinger, Hamid Karzai and Alvaro Uribe were among the officials she encountered on a day during which she "largely listened."
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