Colombians are electing a new Congress and choosing presidential candidates

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombians voted Sunday for a new Congress and to select candidates from three major coalitions in a primary-style contest ahead of a presidential election in May.

The election unfolded under high alert for political violence across the South American country, particularly in rural regions dominated by illegal armed groups.

With over 96% of the polling stations reporting late Sunday night, the political parties receiving the most votes for the Senate were the ruling Historical Pact and the Democratic Center, the main opposition party.

In the House of Representatives, the Democratic Center received the most votes, followed by traditional parties such as the Liberal, Conservative and U parties. The Historical Pact came in fifth.

Just hours after polls opened, Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez asserted that a group of at least 2,400 people “allegedly heading to vote” were detected trying to enter Colombia at an illegal border crossing with Venezuela in Norte de Santander, despite announced border closures during the election process.

“They are doing so illegally,” said the minister, who posted images on his social media account showing people lining up on secondary roads to cross a river to the other side, where several buses were parked. “This is a clear case of a crime being committed,” Sánchez said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the incident as “large-scale fraud” and an “avalanche of illegal voting” as he called on the mayor of Cucuta to act immediately.

“Sixty buses have been detained, and the company responsible for bringing massive numbers of voters from across the border must be investigated immediately,” Petro wrote on X.

Hours later, the defense minister said authorities had responded and that no people remained in that area. Sánchez said officials have opened an investigation into the transportation company, the political advertising used and the alleged suspects who are being identified.

Petro — the nation’s first left-leaning leader — also has cast doubt on the country's election software, pointing to the 2022 legislative elections, when his Historic Pact movement gained over 390,000 votes following a recount. He attributed this shift to the presence of election observers.

The registrar general, Hernán Penagos, defended the computer systems and explained that they are subject to international audits as he asked citizens to trust the electoral system.

The European Union deployed 40 election observers in early February and said it intended to increase the size of the delegation for Sunday's congressional vote.

Sunday’s election is set to define the political landscape for Colombia’s next head of state.

More than 3,000 candidates vied for 285 legislative positions — 102 in the Senate and 183 in the House of Representatives. There are 41.2 million eligible voters.

Among them was Patricia Mendoza, who voted in northern Bogotá.

“We have to improve; everything is wrong: healthcare, corruption, the economy, and insecurity," she told The Associated Press.

Petro is ineligible for reelection because the constitution bars a sitting president from running for a consecutive second term.

Under Petro’s government, Congress has become more of a counterweight to his policies, a departure from the past, when the legislature tended to be aligned with the president.

Colombia's current Congress approved Petro’s pension and labor overhaul, but rejected his proposed health care and tax reforms, and there were often tensions between him and lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the right-wing opposition is looking to reclaim its status as a dominant political force. The Democratic Center, the nation’s primary opposition party, has been influenced by former President Álvaro Uribe, who is mobilizing his base to secure a strong legislative presence ahead of the presidential vote.

Alongside the congressional vote, Colombians voted to choose presidential candidates for the country's three major political blocs: the center, the center-left and the right. The winners of the three “interparty consultations," similar to American primary elections, will go on to compete in the presidential election, whose first round is set for May 31.

More than 6 million people voted in the presidential primaries that featured 16 candidates.

The right-wing primary garnered the most votes, with more than 82% of the electorate participating, according to the National Registry, which reported over 92% of the votes counted. The winner in that bloc was Paloma Valencia, candidate of the main opposition party, Democratic Center.

Meanwhile, in the center bloc, former Bogota mayor Claudia López won after competing against a relatively unknown lawyer. And in the center-left, the former ambassador to the United Kingdom, Roy Barreras, won. He was competing primarily with former mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero.

Lorena Balcazar, a 32-year-old voter, lamented that polarization could influence Sunday's elections: “Many people are dissatisfied with this government; they want to vote for the same people as before, but those same people aren’t convincing either."

Presidential hopefuls have long used the primaries to gauge their support before entering the first round of voting. This strategy proved successful four years ago for Petro, who consolidated his base by winning the left-wing primary alongside Francia Márquez, who became his vice president.

However, the two candidates currently leading in the polls — Iván Cepeda, from Petro’s party, and far-right Abelardo de la Espriella — are not participating in the primaries, which are optional.

Political analyst Gabriel Cifuentes said the primaries are a high-stakes gamble for the participants, noting that a victory on Sunday is only meaningful if it demonstrates enough strength to compete with the leading candidates, such as Cepeda and de la Espriella.

“Whether (Paloma) Valencia can become a viable candidate will depend heavily on the vice-presidential running mate she secures, because she needs to take votes away from de la Espriella,” Javier Garay, a professor at Externado University of Colombia, told The Associated Press.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Sen. Paloma Valencia of the Democratic Center party celebrates after winning the nomination of an opposition coalition for the upcoming presidential election in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

Police guard a polling station in Buenos Aires, Cauca state, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

A woman votes during legislative elections in Buenos Aires, Cauca state, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro votes during legislative elections in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, right, talks to electoral official before voting during legislative elections in Rionegro, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Angel Lopez)

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro votes during legislative elections in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks after voting during legislative elections in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Electoral posters promoting presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella and legislative candidates hang on a wall next to a crucifix of Jesus Christ at the Corabastos, the largest food distribution center in Bogota, Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Police hold up shields protecting presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella as he points while speaking during a campaign rally at the Corabastos, the largest food distribution center, in Bogota, Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Supporters of Ivan Cepeda, presidential candidate for the Historic Pact coalition, cheer him on during a campaign rally in Cali, Colombia, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

ISTANBUL (AP) — Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu went on trial on Monday with more than 400 other defendants accused of widespread corruption in a case critics see as a politically motivated move against Turkey’s opposition.

Imamoglu, who has been behind bars for nearly a year, is the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ’s 23-year rule. He was elected as the main opposition party’s candidate for an election due in 2028 just days after he was detained.

The hearing began in a tense atmosphere, with Imamoglu asking to speak and the panel of judges refusing the request, Halk TV news channel and other media reported. The judges accused Imamoglu of disrupting the proceedings and then left the courtroom. The trial was adjourned until the afternoon.

Tensions continued in the later session when defense lawyers called for the judges to be removed and replaced, but the court dismissed the request.

Most of the 402 defendants worked for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, headed by Imamoglu since 2019. Many are elected officials from the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, while journalists are also among the accused.

Imamoglu’s arrest on March 19 last year sparked weeks of street protests, the largest seen in Turkey for more than a decade.

He faces 142 charges, including establishing the “Imamoglu criminal organization for profit” from 2015, when he was mayor of Istanbul’s Beylikduzu district. The 3,900-page indictment alleges the goal was not just to enrich the accused through a system of bid-rigging and payoffs but also to finance Imamoglu’s rise in the CHP, ultimately resulting in his presidential candidacy.

If convicted, he could face a total prison sentence exceeding 2,000 years.

In a newspaper article published Friday, Imamoglu described Monday’s trial as “one of the toughest tests of democracy” in Turkey’s history and an “attempt to overturn the will of the people.”

The case is just one of the many indictments in which the 54-year-old mayor could be jailed and banned from politics. Others include claims of terrorism, espionage, falsifying his university diploma and insulting officials.

In what government critics say is a broad judicial campaign against the opposition, elected CHP members, including mayors of other major cities, face separate terrorism and corruption allegations. The party’s leadership itself is also under legal pressure over alleged irregularities surrounding its 2023 congress.

The scale and anticipated length of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality trial, which could run for years, has seen authorities commission the building of a new courtroom at the prison complex in Silivri, west of Istanbul, where Imamoglu and many defendants are held. Until it is completed, participants will squeeze into an existing chamber at the prison.

To highlight what they see as the political nature of prosecutions against CHP members, Imamoglu’s supporters and human rights groups point to a series of factors, including the role of Istanbul’s chief prosecutor. Akin Gurlek, the deputy justice minister, was appointed to that office in late 2024, where he initiated a series of investigations targeting CHP figures. Last month, he returned to government as justice minister.

Critics also say the prosecution’s reliance on “secret witnesses,” whose identity is hidden from defense lawyers, and defendants testifying against their co-accused, contravene the right to a fair trial.

The government maintains that Turkey’s judiciary is independent and impartial.

Despite a ban on demonstrations around the Silivri prison complex, hundreds of people gathered to demand Imamoglu's release. The CHP set up a replica of the cell where the mayor is being held — furnished with a desk, a chair, and a small television — for supporters to visit.

Benjamin Ward, Europe and Central Asia deputy director at Human Rights Watch, described the cases against the CHP over the past year as “weaponizing the criminal justice system.”

“Looking at these cases as a whole, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that prosecutors are trying to remove Imamoglu from politics and discredit his party in ways that undermine democracy,” he said.

__

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.

Supporters gather outside Silivri prison, where Istanbul jailed Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu stands trial accused of widespread corruption, west of Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 9, 2026. The poster reads in Turkish: "Ekrem Imamoglu freedom". (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)

Supporters shout slogans outside Silivri prison, where Istanbul jailed Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu stands trial accused of widespread corruption, west of Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)

Supporters shout slogans outside Silivri prison, where Istanbul jailed Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu stands trial accused of widespread corruption, west of Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)

Supporters shout slogans outside Silivri prison, where Istanbul jailed Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu stands trial accused of widespread corruption, west of Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 9, 2026. Posters read in Turkish: "Türkiye will win!". (AP Photo/Dilara Acikgoz)

FILE - Istanbul Mayor and Republican People's Party, or CHP, candidate Ekrem Imamoglu addresses supporters outside the City Hall in Istanbul, Turkey, early Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)