Though surprises are possible, polling says the front runners are Iván Cepeda, Abelardo de la Espriella, and Paloma Valencia.

The Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil of Colombia (RNEC), the entity responsible for organizing elections in the country, reported that a total of 14 candidates have officially registered to run in the country’s presidential elections, scheduled for May 31, 2026. In this vote, citizens will elect the President and Vice President of the Republic for the 2026–2030 term.

According to the electoral authority, the candidates represent a wide range of political perspectives, from left to right, including independent candidacies running through political movements. Here the list and brief profile of the candidates:

1. Clara Eugenia López Obregón, currently a senator for the Esperanza Democrática She has served as Minister of Labor (2016–2017), acting mayor of Bogotá (2011–2012), and Bogotá’s secretary of government (2008–2010). She has been affiliated with left-wing parties and was Gustavo Petro’s vice presidential running mate in the 2010 election.
2. Óscar Mauricio Lizcano, from the FAMILIA coalition. He served as Minister of Information Technologies (2023–2025), was a senator (2010–2018), and a member of the House of Representatives (2006–2010).
3. Raúl Santiago Botero, candidate of the “Romper el Sistema” movement (Break the Establishment). An agronomist engineer and businessman from Medellín, he presents himself as an independent candidate with no prior political experience.
4. Miguel Uribe Londoño, father of the slain presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay. He is running under the Colombian Democratic Party and previously served as president of the Centro Democrático party founded by Álvaro Uribe Vélez.
5. Sondra Macollins Garvin, from the movement “La Abogada de Hierro” (The Iron Lawyer) A criminal lawyer and psychologist, she presents herself as an independent candidate without political affiliations. She ran for the House of Representatives in 2022 and is known for her work in narcotrafficking and corruption cases.
6. Iván Cepeda Castro, a senator since 2014 and the official candidate of the Pacto Histórico, the same party as President Gustavo Petro. Polls project he will receive the highest vote share in the first election round. He is aligned with left-wing political ideas.
7. Abelardo de la Espriella, a lawyer with far-right positions, running for the first time under the Defensores de la Patria movement. Recent polls place him as a likely second or third contender in voter preference.
8. Claudia López Hernández, former mayor of Bogotá (2020–2023) and former senator (2014–2018), running under the centrist movement “Imparables con Claudia.” She is known for her anti-corruption agenda and secured her candidacy with more than 570,000 votes (about 9%) in recent interparty primaries.
9. Paloma Valencia Laserna, current senator and candidate of the Centro Democrático party led by Álvaro Uribe Vélez. She won the right-wing interparty primary on March 8 with more than 3 million votes. Polls place her among the top three contenders, and if she reaches a runoff, she would become the first woman in Colombia’s history to do so.

• Sergio Fajardo Valderrama, an academic and mathematician running for the Dignidad y Compromiso He served as mayor of Medellín and governor of Antioquia and is running for president for the third time.
• Roy Barreras, from the political party La Fuerza (The Force). He won the left-wing coalition primary on March 8 with the lowest vote total (257,000 votes, about 3.6%). Although currently aligned with left-wing movements and part of the Petro administration, he has previously been affiliated with right- and center-leaning parties.
• Gustavo Matamoros Camacho, of the Colombian Ecologist Party. He served in the Colombian Army for 43 years. With no prior political experience, his campaign focuses on public security.
• Luis Gilberto Murillo, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2024–2025) and Colombia’s ambassador to the United States (2022–2024). A human rights advocate and Afro-Colombian leader from Chocó, he presents himself as an independent, moderate, centrist candidate.
• Carlos Eduardo Caicedo, running under the independent movement “Con Caicedo.” He was mayor of Santa Marta (2012–2015) and governor of Magdalena (2020–2023), where he built a strong base as a left-wing political leader.

The RNEC also reported that “the draw to determine the position of presidential candidates on the ballot will take place on March 25 at the Ágora Bogotá Convention Center.”

This process marks the formal start of the final phase of the presidential campaign, during which candidates will seek to consolidate support ahead of the first round on May 31. If no candidate secures an absolute majority, a runoff between the two leading candidates will be held on June 21.

List of registered candidates for Colombia’s presidency. Photo courtesy of the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil.

Headline photo: Polling station in Colombia during last Congress elections in March 8, 2026. Photo courtesy of the Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil.

Uribe Londoño’s presidential hopes had been paused due to his falling out with Alvaro Uribe’s Centro Democrático party.

Miguel Uribe Londoño has officially launched his second campaign for the presidency of Colombia ahead of the 2026 elections. For this cycle, the 73-year-old former senator will represent the Partido Demócrata Colombiano, a political organization focused on afrocolombian rights and representation, and that secured its legal standing following the 2022 election of Representative Ana Rogelia Monsalve to the seat reserved for Afro-descendant communities. This marks a significant shift for Uribe Londoño, who had been running under Alvaro Uribe’s (no relation) Centro Democrático party, just has his son, the slain presidential candidate Miguel Uribe had been doing.

Miguel Uribe Londoño took up the presidential campaign left whin his son, Miguel Uribe Turbay, was assassinated last year while campaigning in Bogotá.

The move follows a public fracture between Uribe Londoño and the leadership of the Centro Democrático, headed by former President Alvaro Uribe. Uribe Londoño resigned his membership after alleging that the party leadership marginalized his candidacy to favor other internal aspirants, including Senator and actual party nominee Paloma Valencia. He claimed his internal polling numbers were higher than those of the candidates eventually endorsed by the party. The Partido Demócrata Colombiano, while sharing a similar name, is a distinct entity from the Centro Democrático.

The candidate’s 2026 platform, that would be viewed as center-right by most impartial observers, is structured around the principles of protection, order, and justice. Uribe Londoño has proposed an economic model focused on wealth creation, stating that the generation of capital must precede distribution to avoid the socialization of poverty. His security strategy advocates a justice system capable of delivering prompt sanctions against criminal activity and a protection model that applies to both urban and rural sectors. He asserted that current presidential contenders are offering inadequate solutions to the various crises facing the nation.

During the announcement, Uribe Londoño framed his candidacy as a tribute to the legacy of his son, Miguel Uribe Turbay. He stated that his participation in the race is intended to ensure that his son’s political proposals are not silenced following his death. While Uribe Londoño has not historically been linked to Afro-Colombian social movements, Pedro Adán Torres, president of the Partido Demócrata Colombiano, expressed support for the bid, citing a shared commitment to achieving tangible justice for ethnic communities in Colombia.

The Partido Demócrata Colombiano currently holds one seat in the Colombian Congress. By providing a platform for Uribe Londoño, the party seeks to elevate its influence in a political landscape often dominated by larger traditional movements. The campaign will likely test the viability of smaller party platforms and the influence of independent conservative voices outside the traditional Centro Democrático structure as the 2026 election cycle approaches in Colombia.

Above photo: Twitter/X account of Miguel Uribe Londoño