Colombians have elected Juan Manuel Santos to a second term as president to continue to pursue a peace deal with leftist guerrillas that aims to end to more than 50 years of internal conflict.



With 50.9% of the vote, Santos, who heads a centre-right coalition, defeated rightwing Oscar Iván Zuluaga, who won 45% in one of the tightest presidential races in recent history.

Opinion polls had placed the two candidates in a virtual tie but in the end Santos won over a majority of voters.

"Colombians have voted for the hope of swapping fear for peace," Santos said amid cheering followers who waved their hands with the word "Paz" (Peace) written on their palms.

Though many Colombians say that their main concerns were jobs and insecurity, the debate in the campaign centered on the issue of the peace process that Santos' government began with leftist FARC rebels in late 2012. Several days before the vote, the government announced that it has begun preliminary talks with a second rebel group, known as the ELN.

Zuluaga, who ran as a candidate of a party created by ultra-conservative former president Alvaro Uribe, has been sharply critical of the talks with rebels, accusing the president of offering the guerrillas impunity for their crimes, which include kidnapping, killings and mass forced displacement. Santos has said impunity is not on the table in the talks, which are being held in Havana.

Zuluaga won the first round vote in May, but Santos sealed his victory by uniting political forces, including leftist parties and independents, around his promise of peace. "To those who supported me because they support peace, I take that backing as an immense challenge," Santos said. "We will not fail you."

FARC and government negotiators have reach preliminary agreements on three of five points on the agenda, in what is considered the best chance ever for Colombia to end its conflict. But the most contentious issues – transitional justice and decommissioning – have yet to be discussed.

Zuluaga, in his concession speech before of a crowd of disheartened supporters, said that the voice of the nearly 7 million Colombians who voted for him "will have to be heard".

When peace talks began, Santos raised hopes that a peace deal could be reached quickly saying the negotiations would last "months and not years". Support for the talks lagged and opinion polls have shown that while a majority of Colombians want to see their country at peace, they doubt the current process will be successful.

But the outcome of the vote showed a renewed hopefulness. "This election was an advance referendum on peace," said pro-Santos senator Armando Benedetti.