Colombia right wing candidate De La Espriella has lead in tight presidential race

Colombian right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella is poised to win the country's presidential race with nearly 50% of the vote, leading his leftist rival Ivan Cepeda by 368,000 votes.

Colombian right ‌wing candidate Abelardo ​De La Espriella looked poised to win the country's Sunday presidential race, notching just under 50% ‌of the vote, with nearly 95% of ballot boxes counted, data from the country's national registry office showed. His rival, the leftist Ivan Cepeda, was some 368,000 votes behind ‌with 48.4%. De La Espriella, 47, has proposed a tough crackdown on crime, ‌as well as the end to peace talks with armed groups and a boost to Colombia's oil and gas sector. Cepeda, 63, has vowed to continue the policies of President Gustavo Petro, ⁠a ​former rebel and ⁠the country's first leftist president, which include state pension payments for the poor, union-backed labor reforms, peace ⁠talks with armed groups that have fought the state for decades and a moratorium ​on new oil projects. De La Espriella blames Petro for the country's economic ⁠and security woes and has vowed to lower taxes and reduce the size of the state ⁠by ​up to 40%, but has said he will preserve Petro's 23% increase in the minimum wage, along with other popular social measures. Whoever wins will ⁠grapple with high public debt and a divided Congress, which could stymie reform proposals.

Some ⁠400,000 voters turned ⁠in blank ballots, usually seen as a protest vote.