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Former finance minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga won 29 per cent of the votes in Colombia’s presidential ballot on Sunday, stealing momentum from President Juan Manuel Santos, who garnered 26 per cent.
Without the 50 per cent needed to win outright, the two will fight it out again on June 15 in a run-off.
The arrest of an adviser on charges of spying appeared not to have eroded support for Mr Zuluaga, who had emerged as President Santos’ toughest challenger, thanks to the backing of his one-time boss Alvaro Uribe.
President Santos framed the run-off as a battle between “fear and hope,” contrasting current peace talks with Farc rebels and Mr Uribe’s legacy of military offensives against them.
“The choice is between those of us who want to put an end to the war and those who want war without end,” Mr Santos told supporters in Bogota, who responded with shouts of “Peace for Colombia.”