Polls Close as Vote Count Begins in Colombia’s Presidential Election

Polls closed at 4:00 p.m. this Sunday in Colombia, and the vote-counting process immediately began to determine the country’s political direction for the next four years.

Following an election day marked by calm and broad voter participation, polling station officials began completing the E-14 forms, the key document used for the preliminary count that will reveal the first trends in the presidential election.

More than 41 million Colombians were eligible to vote in what is considered a decisive election for the country’s future. The day proceeded without major incidents and under a large deployment of electoral and security authorities, which had spent weeks preparing the operation to ensure the normal conduct of voting throughout the national territory.

An army airstrike this morning against a camp belonging to the illegal armed group Clan del Golfo — with approximately 150 criminals — was the only notable security-related event, although the Ministry of Defense confirmed that it “did not affect the election day in any way.”

The election was monitored by 1,300 international observers who oversaw the transparency of the voting process in Colombia.

Polls close as vote count begins in Colombia’s presidential election

With the official closing of polling stations, election officials began the precinct-level count, the first stage of the vote-counting process. At each polling location, ballot boxes were opened and the votes cast by citizens throughout the day were sorted and counted.

The results of that count are recorded on the E-14 forms, official documents that register the number of votes received by each candidate, as well as blank, invalid, and unmarked ballots. These forms constitute the basis of the national preliminary count, a mechanism that allows preliminary results to be known just hours after polls close.

The National Civil Registry explained that the data contained in the E-14 forms are progressively transmitted to the electoral processing center, where the information bulletins that begin to be released during the afternoon and evening are compiled. Although these results provide a picture that is very close to the final outcome, they do not have definitive legal validity.

The official canvass will then take place, a more detailed stage in which electoral authorities verify records, review possible inconsistencies, and legally certify the results of the presidential election.

At the same time, each candidate’s electoral observers will have immediate access to those forms, allowing them to obtain vote-by-vote information, polling table by polling table, throughout the country.

A smooth election day

Voting proceeded peacefully across most of the country. From the opening of polling stations at 8:00 a.m., citizens went to polling places without any significant public-order disturbances or incidents capable of affecting the electoral process.

Authorities maintained the security measures planned for the election throughout the day. Particular attention was focused on certain regions where there had been prior concerns about threats from armed groups or possible attempts to interfere with the democratic process. However, the assessment provided during the day was positive and dominated by reports of normal conditions.

The various presidential candidates cast their votes in different cities across the country and sent messages encouraging participation to their supporters. While some emphasized the need to defend democracy through the ballot box, others called for citizen oversight during the vote count. The high level of political polarization that characterized the campaign did not spill over into the streets during election day.

President Gustavo Petro, who voted in downtown Bogota during the morning, called for monitoring both the vote count and the voting process itself, urging efforts to combat “vote buying” and once again calling for the state to own the software used to process the E-14 forms, in a controversy that dates back several months despite the guarantees offered by electoral authorities regarding the integrity of the electoral process.

“My vote, like any other vote cast by any citizen, is a signal, a mandate given by the people themselves to whoever will lead Colombia—whether a man or a woman—for the next four years, succeeding my administration,” the president said after casting his vote.

Awaiting the first bulletins

The country’s attention is now focused on the National Civil Registry’s first official reports. According to electoral authorities, the first bulletin is usually released just minutes after polls close, although it initially reflects only a small percentage of reporting polling stations and does not allow for definitive trends to be established.

As the transmission of the E-14 forms progresses, the electoral picture begins to become clearer. Official projections indicate that by the early evening there could be a much more precise understanding of the outcome and of whether the race will be decided in the first round or will need to continue to a second electoral round.

This Sunday’s election represents one of the most closely watched political processes in Colombia in recent years. The country went to the polls amid a climate of strong polarization and debate over the continuation or reversal of the political course initiated during Gustavo Petro’s administration.

Now, with voting concluded and the E-14 forms in the hands of election officials, the decisive phase begins: the counting of the votes that will determine who will occupy the Casa de Nariño — the presidential palace — starting on August 7.