Colombians elect fragmented Congress in low-turnout election

By Luis Jaime Acosta

BOGOTA, March 8 (Reuters) - Colombia's leftist ruling party and main opposition party were on track to win the largest number of seats in Congress in Sunday’s legislative elections, preliminary vote tallies showed, but neither secured a majority, highlighting the fragmented nature of Colombia’s political landscape.

In addition to choosing from over 3,000 candidates to fill 102 Senate seats and 182 House seats, voters also chose three of the presidential candidates who will run in elections this May.

Preliminary results showed the right-wing Democratic Center, led by former president Alvaro Uribe, and the leftist Historic Pact - which brought President Gustavo Petro to power — appeared poised to win the largest share of seats in Colombia’s Senate, in a contest marked by high abstention.

That level of support guarantees them a significant number of the Senate’s seats, but without achieving an absolute majority.

Several traditional parties, including the Colombian Conservative Party, Colombian Liberal Party, Social Party of National Unity, Radical Change and Green Alliance, were also expected to secure representation.

In the lower house, the Democratic Center and Historic Pact were likewise set to hold the largest blocs in the chamber, though neither appeared on course for an absolute majority.

Analysts had predicted the vote would be divided among some two dozen parties, likely forcing the next president to form a coalition government.

"The left showed that it is here to stay, the right that it is divided, but it is not weak. We are going to have a fragmented Congress for the next legislature," said Sergio Guzman, director of political risk consulting firm Colombia Risk Analysis.

Alongside the legislative elections, right-wing, leftist and centrist groups held primaries to choose candidates for the May presidential election.

The right-wing primary was won by Democratic Center Senator Paloma Valencia, while former Senator Roy Barreras, an ally of Petro, prevailed for the leftist group. Former Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez won the centrist primary.

The three winners will take part in the May presidential election and will face Abelardo De La Espriella, Ivan Cepeda and Sergio Fajardo — other representatives of the right, left and center, respectively — who did not take part in the primaries and chose to run directly in the first round.

More than 41.2 million people were eligible to vote. Abstention was over 50%, according to preliminary results.

"It is very important to come and exercise the right to vote. The most important thing is for Colombia to decide its future and for the results to be respected," said Federico Rodriguez, a 32-year-old business administrator, after voting in Bogota's north.

President Gustavo Petro, whose term ends in August, has repeatedly questioned the software being used for the vote count in the elections, alleging possible irregularities, while National Registrar Hernan Penagos has guaranteed the transparency of the vote and said party observers can verify the software's results.

The elections took place without incidents of violence, despite isolated reports of attempted vote buying by some politicians.

About 246,000 members of the armed forces and the national police were deployed to provide security at more than 13,400 polling stations across the country, to prevent attacks by illegal armed groups and electoral crimes such as vote buying or pressure on voters.