Leftist Petro wins Colombia presidential election

Second round of Colombian presidential election
Colombian left-wing presidential candidate Gustavo Petro of the Historic Pact coalition speaks after casting his vote at a polling station, next to his wife Veronica Alcocer and daughter during the second round of the presidential election in Bogota, Colombia June 19, 2022. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo

BOGOTA, June 19 (Reuters) - Leftist Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla movement who has vowed profound social and economic change, will be Colombia's next president after beating construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez in an election on Sunday.

Petro, a current senator and previous mayor of Bogota, won 50.8% of votes, figures from the national registry office showed, while Hernandez trailed by 797,973 votes, tallying 46.9%.

Some 20 million people cast ballots nationwide.

Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Cynthia Osterman

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