Colombia chooses a new president

Colombia votes
Colombia votes
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By Philip Andrew Churm
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The two would-be successors to President Santos could be more different from each other.

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Voting has been taking place in Colombia to choose the country’s next president.

Among the issues the two main candidates are focusing on is a controversial deal with FARC rebels, accusations of corruption and the economy.

The poll is being held to replace former president, Juan Manuel Santos who won the Nobel Peace Prize – and international respect - in 2016 for negotiating the deal with the FARC rebels.

He’d been in office for eight years.

His two would-be successors could be more different from each other.

Ivan Duque is seen as the pro-business, right of centre option but has no political experience. He’s threatening to rewrite the peace agreement and reinvestigate alleged by the group.

In contrast there is Gustavo Petro, a left-wing former guerrilla who hopes to tackle huge inequality in Colombia and redistribute land.

Whoever wins the election is likely to face a huge challenge in uniting a deeply divided country.

_Correction: The headline originally said "Columbia". It has been updated to "Colombia". _

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