Counting Starts in Colombian Primaries and Congressional Votes

Vote counting has started in Colombian primaries that will produce three candidates — one each from the conservative, leftist and centrist blocs — who will go on to face hardline frontrunners Iván Cepeda and Abelardo de la Espriella in May’s presidential election. Voters are also choosing members of the Senate and the lower house of Congress.

In the conservative coalition’s primary, Senator Paloma Valencia is the favorite among nine contenders. She is calling for a beefed-up army and police force to launch a military offensive against cocaine-trafficking gangs, and she also wants to eliminate the nation’s wealth tax.