Colombian Elections

Colombia’s 2026 elections mark a decade since the signing of the historic peace agreement in 2016. With still ongoing challenges to its implementation, these elections have marked a return to the levels of electoral violence reminiscent of the pre-agreement era. While the Petro government promised to engage in dialogue and peace talks with the country’s remaining armed groups in the so-called “Total Peace” strategy, the failure to reach any new, substantive peace agreements has left many disillusioned. As Colombians head to the polls May 31^st, 2026, they will be voting for a new president and a new strategy to address the country’s armed conflict.

The rise of electoral violence is not the only symptom of a polarized country: the fourteen presidential candidates running in this cycle and the newly formed, yet politically fragmented, congress are also a reflection of this polarization. The assassination of the former senator and presidential candidate, Miguel Uribe Turbay, revealed the fragile state of democratic guarantees, and broke with decades-long commitment to ensuring the safety of those seeking political office. However, according to the Misión Observatorio de Elecciones, a Colombian non-profit tracking electoral and political violence, this guarantee has not been equal: Indigenous and Afro-Colombian leaders are the ones facing most attacks.

Colombia’s next president will need to grapple with the questions of peace, trust in institutions, polarization and illicit economies. The 2016 Final Peace Accord set an important precedent, bringing peasants, women, ethnic groups and those at the intersection of these identities to the negotiation table. For pluralism to thrive in Colombia, the country’s next president will need to continue to honour these commitments.

Peace is at stake in these elections

Despite the large number of candidates aspiring for the presidency, three key candidates have been leading the polls. These candidates represent Colombia’s right- and left-wing constituencies. Various polls estimate, however, that none of these candidates have enough support to win the elections in the first round. The second round of elections is scheduled for June 21.

The Historic Pact coalition’s senator, Ivan Cepeda, has led the polls since he announced his intentions to run for president. He is followed by Abelardo de la Espriella, a lawyer running for the Defensores de la Patria party, and Paloma Valencia, a lawyer running for former president’s Alvaro Uribe’s (2002-2010) party, Centro Democrático.

Cepeda’s vision for peace follows the incumbent’s, Gustavo Petro, policy: triumphing dialogue-led negotiations to end the armed conflict with a strong defense of human rights. He also proposes further decentralization by giving more power and resources to local governments and Ethnic territories so they may operate more autonomously. De la Espriella, in contrast, proposes a heavy-handed securitized and militarized approach centred on prosecuting and combatting Colombia’s paramilitary and guerrilla forces, putting aside peace dialogues or processes. De la Espriella has also proposed using this heavy-handed approach against mingas, a form of Indigenous-led and organized peaceful social protest, and seeks to abolish the Special Jurisdiction for Peace — a move that would jeopardize the implementation of the Peace Accord.

Finally, Valencia proposes to overhaul the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, Colombia’s independent transitional justice tribunal, and prioritizes a military response to combat Colombia’s illegal armed groups. Valencia is one of this cycle’s controversial candidates, having in 2015 proposed to segregate the Cauca department, creating a department for Indigenous peoples and one for mestizos.

As the International Crisis Group notes, the ballooning of illegal armed groups, violence, extortion and kidnappings since 2024 signify that a mix of both approaches – peace talks and military responses – will be needed to bring the armed conflict under control.

Peace and pluralism – for whom?

As the Global Pluralism Monitor: Colombia report underscores, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups have been the most disproportionately impacted by the conflict. In May 2026, the Centre’s Strengthening Peace Through Pluralism project team travelled to Colombia to support the Women of the Ethnic Commission in the implementation of a local monitoring exercise for the Peace Accord’s Ethnic Chapter in Choco.

During this exercise Indigenous and Afro-Colombian women from across the Atrato River reported that the evolution of the conflict and the lack of implementation of the Peace Accord in their territories have had a negative on their livelihood, culture and community. In many ways, the conflict has evolved and many participants spoke about how pervasive day-to-day violence is in their communities. Despite the large number of initiatives or promised government funds for peace sustaining work, very few resources actually reach Chocoan communities. Importantly, they highlighted the lack of representation they face in congress, government and peacebuilding mechanisms like the Territorial Focused Development Programs (PDETs).

The way Colombia’s presidential candidates commit to responding to Ethnic issues will be crucial for the outcome of pluralism in the country. For this reason, it becomes even more important that an Indigenous leader, Aida Quilcué, is running for vice president alongside Iván Cepeda. Quilcué participated in the 2016 negotiations for the Peace Accord and has been a part of the Colombian National Indigenous Organization, the UN’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and is one of the first Indigenous women to become a senator, championing the implementation of the Peace Accord for all Colombians.

But, according to our partners in Colombia, a real concern exists in that Quilcué’s identity as an Indigenous women will be instrumentalized as current vice president’s Francia Márquez’s Afro-Colombian identity has been. Márquez has repeatedly denounced the structural racism she has faced as vice president, which impacted her ability to bring to life initiatives that meet the needs of Colombia’s diverse Ethnic peoples. Her tenure has been a bitter reminder that representation, while important, does not immediately mean an end to the oppressive power structures. Quilcué’s rise to the vice presidency would mean a monumental win for Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous women’s representation in Colombia. But, for pluralism to take root, this representation cannot be only be symbolic, it must be substantive, allowing her to fully participate in the government’s decision-making and duties as vice president.

Despite failing to achieve substantive, new peace agreements, the Petro government has left a mark in Colombian politics, and our work with the Women of the Ethnic Commission confirms it. It is clear that peace, justice, economic development and security cannot be achieved without integrating the knowledge, representation and inclusion of Ethnic peoples and their territories across all of their diversities. For pluralism to thrive in Colombia, the country’s next President needs to acknowledge Ethnic peoples as equal partners and ensure that peace guarantees and initiatives truly address the needs of those most impacted, rather than hostility towards potential and existing peace processes.

By Andrea Gonzalez