Bogotá, Colombia – Daniel Quintero, a candidate for the ruling Pacto Histórico (Historic Pact) coalition in Colombia’s 2026 presidential elections, withdrew this week from presidential primaries alleging a “trap” by Colombia’s National Electoral Council (CNE).
Quintero’s move came after the CNE rejected a request by President Gustavo Petro’s Historic Pact coalition to form a new party and hold an internal selection process for its candidate. Instead, the electoral commission said the contest, scheduled for October 26, will constitute an inter-party primary, which may bar the winner from forming a broader coalition in March next year.
It remains unclear if Quintero can legally withdraw from the race, with his name already on the ballots alongside Historic Pact candidates Ivan Cepeda and Carolina Corcho. Petro’s coalition is also expected to launch a legal battle with the CNE, potentially muddying an already contentious electoral process.
Quintero, the former mayor of Medellin, announced his withdrawal in a video shared on X on Wednesday morning: “They killed the Historic Pact consultation. The National Electoral Council and the Registrar’s Office changed the rules today.”
Quintero’s concerns stem from a CNE ruling that denied the Historic Pact’s request to change from a coalition to a single party due to irregularities in the application process. Specifically, the electoral body excluded Colombia Humana (Humane Colombia), Petro’s party and the largest force in the Historic Pact, from the merger for failing to reach quorum when voting for the merger.
Now, because the Historic Pact is not legally a party, its October 26 selection process is officially considered an inter-party contest, which can only occur once under CNE rules. The winner may then be excluded from broader coalition building in March and be obliged to go directly to the first round of voting in May.
Supporters of the Historic Pact allege the CNE’s move is an attempt to weaken the left ahead of the elections.
“In practice, this is a way of judicializing politics and limiting the possibility of progressive unity in the run-up to the presidential election,” Ana Cristina Muñoz, former Humane Colombia activist and Director of the government’s Land Restitution Unit, told The Bogotá Post.
However, others say the CNE is just following procedure and that Humane Colombia failed to obey its own rules by not reaching quorum.
“This was in the party constitution, so it’s not like you can blame the CNE for this. You can’t go against the party constitution just because your leader wants it,” said Sergio Guzmán, Director at Colombia Risk Analysis, a risk consultancy.
To further complicate matters, the coalition requested in a letter to the CNE that the contest on October 26 was to select their “presidential candidate” for the elections, rather than their “pre-candidate,” further undermining the winner’s chances of participating in the March primaries.
Muñoz accepted the Historic Pact had made mistakes, but insisted these were “not on purpose” and are part of a “learning process” for a relatively new movement.
Although Quintero has withdrawn from the race, some 39 million ballot papers have already been printed with his face and name on them, alongside the other two candidates.
Guzmán believes it is too late for Quintero to resign from the primary and that he will be obliged to run with the Historic Pact if he wins or to back his opponents in the race.
The analyst added that Petro’s coalition will likely launch a legal battle following next week’s primary that could further muddy the election season.
“I do see, bar none, that their play now is to say these elections have been rigged. That they don’t allow us to participate fully and fairly,” Guzmán told The Bogotá Post.