Colombia elects Congress, chooses presidential candidates amid US tensions

On Sunday, Colombians will choose from more than 3,000 candidates looking to secure 102 Senate seats and 182 House seats. People vote at a polling station during the congressional elections and party primaries for presidential candidate, in Bogota, Colombia [Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters]Published On 8 Mar 2026Colombians have headed to the polls to elect a new Congress and choose new presidential candidates on Sunday as the country remains on high alert for political violence, with rural regions dominated by armed groups and with the nation facing ongoing pressure from the administration of United States President Donald Trump.About 41.2 million eligible voters in Colombia will choose from more than 3,000 candidates vying for 102 Senate seats and 182 House seats.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Venezuela’s Rodriguez, Colombia’s Petro say they will meet ‘soon’list 2 of 3Small but mighty: Colombia’s Muslim community celebrates Ramadanlist 3 of 3Who was ‘El Mencho’? What drug lord’s killing means for Mexicoend of listAlongside the congressional vote, Colombians will be deciding on presidential candidates for the country’s three key political blocs: the left, centre-left, and the right.The winners of the vote will go on to stand during the presidential election, whose first round is set for May 31. However, leading candidates, including leftist Ivan Cepeda, right-winger Abelarda de la Espriella and centrist Sergio Fajardo, will not be participating during the primary elections.For Federico Rodriguez, a 32-year-old business administrator, after voting in the capital, Bogota said that it was “very important” to vote.“The most important thing is for Colombia to decide its future and for the results to be respected,” Rodriguez told the Reuters news agency.An Indigenous Misak woman waits for her ballot to vote at a polling station during legislative elections in Silvia, Cauca department, Colombia [AFP]Before the polls opened at 8am local time (13:00 GMT) and were expected to close at 4pm (21:00 GMT), Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez claimed that a group of at least 2,400 people “allegedly heading to vote” were detected trying to enter the country via an illegal border crossing with Venezuela, despite the announced border closures during the election process.“They are doing so illegally,” said Sanchez, adding that “This is a clear case of a crime being committed.”President Gustavo Petro also described the incident as “large-scale fraud” and an “avalanche of illegal voting”, as he called on the mayor of Cucuta to take action.“Sixty buses have been detained, and the company responsible for bringing massive numbers of voters from across the border must be investigated immediately,” Petro wrote on X.Moreover, more than 126,00 law enforcement officers are expected to be deployed across the country during election day.But Petro, whose term as the country’s first left-leaning leader ends in August, has questioned the election software being used and pointed to the 2022 legislative elections when his party, Historic Pact, gained over 390,000 votes following a recount.Still, Sunday’s vote is expected to lay the groundwork for the next president, as under Petro’s government, Congress’s decision did not align with the president’s policies, a marked change when the legislature tended to be more aligned.Petro’s tribulations with TrumpAfter a vitriolic war of words between the two leaders, Trump invited Petro to the White House last month.Both leaders hailed the meeting as productive, while acknowledging the lingering tensions that divide them.Trump had previously called the Colombian leader a “sick man” and an “illegal drug leader”, as he blamed the country for funnelling drugs into the US.The leaders began their feud by trading threats on social media over the fate of US deportation flights, a key part of Trump’s immigration crackdown.Petro objected to the reported human rights violations facing the deportees. Trump, meanwhile, took Petro’s initial refusal to accept the flights as a threat to US “national security”. Petro ultimately backed down after Trump threatened steep sanctions on imported Colombian goods.They continued to trade barbs thereafter. Petro condemned the deadly US attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, comparing the strikes with murder.He has also criticised Trump for carrying out a US military offensive in Venezuela to abduct then-President Nicolas Maduro. That attack, Petro said, was tantamount to “kidnapping”.Petro is constitutionally banned from seeking a second term as president. Whoever leads Colombia will have to contend with Trump and his focus on South and Central America, saying Cuba is ripe to fall as he applies intense economic pressure, while pursuing the war on Iran with Israel.