Colombian Elections: Part 2

Sunday, the 17th of June, the second round of elections were held. Who will be president?

The new president

Because the last time people voted wasn’t final for who would become president the 17th of June this month were new elections. This time between the last two men standing. Ivan Duque and Gustavo Petro.

After I spend this day in Bogotá city, enjoying the sun, an ice cream and following the polls, the results were clear. Ivan Duque had won. Though, this wasn’t with a big percentage. He won with 53.9% of the votes. On the 8th of August 2018 he will take office and become officially the new president of Colombia.

A few things about Ivan Duque:

1. He will be the youngest president of Colombia, with only not a lot of experience in politics before. Four years as senator. However he has a back-up of a lot of people with experience and his other experiences on different subjects.
   (Source: The Telegraph, website Ivan Duque)
2. He has a lot of support from former president Alvaro Uribe. Some may call him a puppet and others say he is a man who stands on his own.
   (Sources: The Telegraph, CNN)
3. Duque has promised to introduce some modifications to the peace accord, as he reiterated in his victory speech. Still it is not sure what exactly he will do. The peace accord is about the guerilla movement, Las FARC, that put their weapons down in 2016 as a result of the peace agreement.
   (Sources: TIME, The Bogota Post)

Women

What I also find interesting is that Ivan Duque on his website has a plan specifically for women. It first states what happens to women. For example, violence and inequality. Here a lot of facts are stated that prove that women still face a lot of inequality and other things that a lot less men, or not at all, experience. In the PDF provided called ‘Un futuro para todas las mujeres’, what translates into: ‘a future for all the women’,  has three objectives he wants to work on.

1. No más violencia. No more violence. Reduce violence against women
   so fast and so significantly as possible.
2. Mujeres líderes del futuro. Women, leaders of the future. Increase the participation of women in economic leadership and politicics of Colombia.
3. Familias con AFECTO. Families with AFFECTION. Unleash the talent of women, balancing the responsibilities in the home (double the participation of the man).

What next?

At this moment Ivan Duque is not the president officially yet. Sadly I will not be here to experience what will happen as I leave Colombia mid July.

Though I am curious what will happen. For sure I will keep in touch with Colombian friends and acquantainces, and I will follow the media. I suggest you do the same if you’re interested!