Colombian President Faces Tough re-Election Battle

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos faces a tough re-election battle after finishing second in first-round elections behind rival Oscar Zuluaga, a fierce critic of peace talks with Marxist rebels.

Zuluaga, a former finance minister, finished first in Sunday's polls with 29.3 percent of the vote compared to 25.7 percent for Santos, forcing a June 15 election because neither got a majority.

It was a reversal of fortune for Santos, who had led opinion polls in recent months, only to see his lead evaporate in the final stretch of a campaign marked by mudslinging between the former allies.

After the results were published, Santos warned that the election was a referendum on his center-right government's 18-month negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The runoff would be a choice "between those who want an end to the war and those who prefer a war without end," Santos told supporters, who chanted "peace! peace!"

Miguel Garcia, director of the Democracy Observatory at the University of the Andes, said the result was not "completely negative" for Santos.

"But it shows a divided country in which Zuluaga capitalized on the distrust that millions have toward the FARC," he said.

Zuluaga, who is backed by popular and conservative former president Alvaro Uribe, vowed again Monday to suspend the peace talks and impose tough conditions on the FARC before negotiating.

"I am a friend of peace and I am willing to search for a negotiated peace, but if the FARC want a negotiated peace there must be conditions," he said, adding that the rebels would have to drop their weapons and accept six-year prison terms for their crimes.

The peace process, hosted by Cuba, seeks to end a conflict that has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced more than five million since it erupted in 1964.

The talks have so far led to agreements on rural reform, the participation of former guerrillas in politics and the battle against drug trafficking.

Once cabinet colleagues under Uribe (2002-2010), Santos and Zuluaga turned on each other during the campaign.

Uribe, who is now a senator-elect, played a central part in the election, throwing his weight behind Zuluaga while accusing Santos of betraying the country by negotiating with the FARC.

Santos was Uribe's defense minister in an administration whose no-holds-barred military offensive saw the insurgency's numbers cut by half to 8,000 fighters.

But Santos has taken a more conciliatory stance since taking office in 2010 and campaigned this year under the slogan "War or Peace."

The campaign was also tainted by corruption and espionage scandals that distracted from the debate over how to end the civil war.

A top Santos campaign adviser resigned after allegations that he was given $12 million by drug traffickers to help negotiate their surrender, charges the official denied.

A member of Zuluaga's camp, meanwhile, was accused of hacking the president's emails.

Analysts say the scandals turned off voters, causing 60 percent of them to shun the ballot boxes on Sunday.

Those absentee voters could hold the key to victory if they turn up to vote in the second round.

The candidates must now seek alliances with other parties to gain a decisive edge in the runoff.

Santos already reached out to leftists, independents and conservatives who support the peace talks.

"If we do the math, alliances will favor Santos in the second round, but the (electoral) base does not always listen to its leaders," said Dardo Acevedo, history professor at National University.