Electrifying Colombian presidential runoff

{O/C} In an atmosphere befitting any nail-biters, voters in Colombia's presidential runoff are poised to back either leftist Gustavo Petro or outsider Rodolfo Hernandez.

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Candidates in Sunday's election were amplifying their final campaign calls yesterday.

At the ballot box are two candidates who topped the list in the initial May 29 election -- Leftist rebel Gustavo Petro and the capricious Rodolfo Hernandez, both were former mayors.

Petro garnered 40 percent of the votes with Hernandez's at 28 percent.

Now over 40 percent of the eligible voters are believed to abstain their votes, the highest since 1990.

This is 62-year-old Petro's third election attempt. A Petro victory could alter the current political landscape that has relegated the left in light of its perceived affiliation with the nation's turmoil.

Once embroiled in the M-19 Movement, Petro could carry the day as a leftist given his campaign is already gaining traction provided voters' desire for change.

He's proposed to step up to the reforms plate and overhaul the pension, tax, health and agricultural systems as well as to reinvigorate the battle against drug cartels and armed insurgents.

Boasting of his bizarre self-financed campaigns largely on TikTok is 77-year-old politically-independent millionnaire Hernandez, who brings home the bacon from real estate.

A new broom will sweep clean if he's elected.

A crusade against a corruption epidemic is the keystone of his proposals. In addition to whittling away at various embassies and offices, he also suggested weeding out poverty.

Hernandez's popularity ballooned of late due to so-called anti-Petrista support and came as a surprise to many when he nipped at Petro's heels in the previous round.

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After attending a mass at his place yesterday, Hernandez's son said only after Hernandez takes office will a sea change be in prospect.

The vote comes amid burgeoning disenchantment with current president Ivan Duque's handling of the dispiriting pandemic and mounting unemployment.