2002 Colombian presidential election

none July 2025 Colombia presidential 1998 Colombian presidential election 1998 2006 Colombian presidential election 2006 26 May 2002 46.47% ( 5.08pp) Colombia.AlvaroUribe.01.jpg Álvaro Uribe Colombia First Francisco Santos Calderón 5,862,655 53.05% Horacio_Serpa_campaigning_in_2006.png Horacio Serpa Colombian Liberal Party José Gregorio Hernández Galindo 3,514,779 31.80% Luis Eduardo Garzon in 2015.jpg Luis Eduardo Garzón Independent Democratic Pole Vera Grabe 680,245 6.16% Noemi Sanin 2010 cropped.jpg Noemí Sanín Yes Colombia Fabio Villegas Ramírez 641,884 5.81% 2002 Colombian Presidential Election Results.svg Results by municipality President Andrés Pastrana Arango Colombian Conservative Party Álvaro Uribe Colombia First Presidential elections were held in Colombia on 26 May 2002.Nohlen, Dieter (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p. 306 978-0-19-928358-3 Álvaro Uribe, the candidate of the recently created Colombia First movement, was elected, receiving 53% of the vote by the first round. Uribe took office on 7 August.Nohlen, p. 360 Background In the 1998 presidential elections, Andrés Pastrana of the Colombian Conservative Party was elected to the presidency on a platform of holding peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas. After over three years of tortuous dialogue – while the conflict continued unabated in the rest of the country – Pastrana announced on 20 February 2002 that he was ending the peace process with the FARC. During this complicated period, public opinion radicalized in favour of a strong military strategy to end the Colombian armed conflict.Franco Napoleón Stamato Vicente Colombia Encuestada: Opinión Pública - Periodismo - Política 2008 N. Franco & Cía. S.C.A. Bogotá 255 Candidates Conservative Party In 2001 the governing coalition – composed of the Conservative Party and dissident Liberals – which had carried Pastrana to the presidency in 1998 began looking for a candidate to carry the coalition into the 2002 elections. Former Vice President and Minister of the Interior Humberto de La Calle, a dissident Liberal, was approached but he declined, arguing that the candidacy should go to a Conservative. The Minister of Economic Development, Augusto Ramírez Ocampo, resigned his portfolio to seek the presidency, but he later failed to obtain Conservative support because of his low support in the polls.Falleció el ex canciller Augusto Ramírez Ocampo http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-9625347 El Tiempo 10 September 2015 15 June 2011 Following Ramírez Ocampo's withdrawal, the party's president, Carlos Holguín Sardi organized an internal consultation among the over 16,000 delegates in the national convention. Some members of the party wished to offer the candidacy to Noemí Sanín (a former Conservative who had run as an independent in the 1998 election, placing third in the first round), but she declined, opting to continue her independent candidacy. As a result, her supporters within the party's ranks decided not to participate in the internal consultation and join her campaign directly. Three candidates registered to participate in the Conservative primary, the favourite and eventual winner by a large margin was Juan Camilo Restrepo. Restrepo, who had lost the 1998 Conservative candidacy to Pastrana, had later served in Pastrana's cabinet as Minister of Finance (1998-2000), where his austere measures against the economic crisis made him unpopular and led to his appointment as Colombia's ambassador to France. With most of the Conservative party ultimately supporting Uribe, Restrepo withdrew from the race.Quién es Quién - Juan Camilo Restrepo Salazar http://lasillavacia.com/quienesquien/perfilquien/juan-camilo-restrepo-salazar La Silla Vacía 10 September 2015Daza Javier Duque Institucionalización organizativa y procesos de selección de candidatos presidenciales en los partidos Liberal y Conservador colombianos 1974-2006 Estudios Políticos 31 http://aprendeenlinea.udea.edu.co/revistas/index.php/estudiospoliticos/article/viewFile/1284/1019 10 September 2015 4 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043802/http://aprendeenlinea.udea.edu.co/revistas/index.php/estudiospoliticos/article/viewFile/1284/1019 dead Liberal Party The official candidate of the Liberal Party was Horacio Serpa, who had already been the party's candidate in the 1998 election.Quién es Quién - Horacio Serpa Uribe http://lasillavacia.com/quienesquien/perfilquien/horacio-serpa-uribe La Silla Vacía 10 September 2015 Despite being a polarizing figure, Serpa entered the election as the favourite.Franco, p. 257 Álvaro Uribe's independent candidacy Álvaro Uribe, the former Liberal governor of Antioquia (1995-1997), entered the race as a strong opponent of the peace talks with the FARC, but originally suffered from low name recognition against other better-known candidates. Uribe declined to participate in a Liberal primary, citing the lack of guarantees, and instead launched an independent candidacy (by collecting signatures from voters to win ballot access) with the backing of the Colombia First (Primero Colombia) movement.Quién es Quién - Álvaro Uribe Vélez http://lasillavacia.com/quienesquien/perfilquien/alvaro-uribe-velez La Silla Vacía 10 September 2015 Uribe entered the field taking a hardline position against the peace talks with the FARC, arguing that peace talks should only be held following the cessation of hostilities and terrorist actions.Programa de Gobierno / Álvaro Uribe: Proceso de paz http://www.terra.com.co/elecciones_2002/candidatos_presidencia/alvaro_uribe/programa_de_gobierno/31-03-2002/nota53142.html Votebien.com Terra.com.co 10 September 2015 18 August 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20040818042308/http://www.terra.com.co/elecciones_2002/candidatos_presidencia/alvaro_uribe/programa_de_gobierno/31-03-2002/nota53142.html dead The left Luis Eduardo Garzón, the first president of the Central Union of Workers between 1990 and 2001, ran as the candidate of the left-wing Social and Political Front, later joined by other left-wing parties including the ANAPO and united under the name Independent Democratic Pole. His candidacy received a major boost following the left's good results in the March 2002 congressional elections. Campaign With public opinion having turned against the continuation of peace talks with the guerrilla, Uribe saw his support in the polls increase at a consistent pace. He broke through, surpassing Serpa, beginning in February 2002, following President Pastrana's announcement that he was ending the peace process.Franco, p. 256 The shift in the polls led a number of Conservatives to abandon their party's official candidate and join Uribe. Decrying the lack of support for his candidacy, Juan Camilo Restrepo dropped out and the Conservative Party chose to officially endorse Uribe.Una elección histórica http://www.colombia.com/noticias/autonoticias/2002/detallenoticia16237.asp Colombia.com 10 September 2015 27 May 2002 Uribe also received the support of a number of other small parties and movements, including Radical Change, senator Germán Vargas Lleras' Colombia Siempre, the National Salvation Movement and Team Colombia. Opinion polls Date Polling Firm/Source Uribe (L. diss.) Serpa (L) Garzón (PDI) Sanín Oth. Lead 18–23 May Napoleón FrancoFranco, p. 270 48.2 27.4 8.2 6.1 10.1 20.8 12–14 May Napoleón FrancoFranco, p. 269 49.3 23 7.8 6 13.9 26.3 18-23 Apr Napoleón FrancoFranco, p. 267 47.6 27.4 7 6.5 11.5 20.2 1-2 Apr Caracol-El Espectador-CambioFranco, p. 264 51 29 4 7 9 22 20-23 Mar Serpa internal 49 31 4 7 9 18 26 Feb-5 Mar Uribe internal 54 24 3 8 11 30 21-24 Feb Napoleón FrancoFranco, p. 262 59.5 24 1.2 5.1 2.2 35.5 4 Feb Napoleón FrancoFranco, p. 260 53 24 12 11 29 19-25 Jan 2002 Napoleón FrancoFranco, p. 259 39 30.1 0.9 16.9 13.1 8.9 19-22 Sep 2001 Napoleón Franco 23.4 41.2 16.2 19.2 17.8 Results Álvaro Uribe Francisco Santos Colombia First 5862655 Horacio Serpa José Gregorio Hernández Colombian Liberal Party 3514779 Luis Eduardo Garzón Vera Grabe Independent Democratic Pole 680245 Noemí Sanín Fabio Villegas Yes Colombia 641884 Íngrid Betancourt Clara Leticia Rojas Oxygen Green Party 53922 Harold Bedoya Pizarro Marino Jaramillo Force Colombia 50763 Francisco Tovar Ricardo Díaz Civic Defence Movement 16333 Augusto Guillermo Lora Germán Rojas 19th of April Movement 10987 Álvaro Cristancho Manuel Enrique Delgado Common Participation Movement 9627 Guillermo Antonio Cardona Hernán Bernal Colombian Community and Communal Political Movement 8023 Rodolfo Rincón Donaldo Escorcia Community Participation 6311 Blank votes 196116 198089 y 24208311 RNEC References Category:Presidential elections in Colombia Colombia Category:2002 in Colombia Category:May 2002 in South America