The two leading candidate in Colombia's presidential election will compete in a June 20 runoff since neither received more than 50 percent of the vote in Sunday's ballot vote.
It was announce after the authorities counted 99.1 percent of the vote.
President Alvaro Uribe's pick for his descendant, former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, took an imposing 46.6 percent to 21.5 percent lead over his nearest rival, former mayor of Bogota, Antanas Mockus, the national registry that is in charge for selecting said.
Since no applicant broke past the 50 percent mark, the two now head for a argument vote on the 20th June, you can see who replaces the very popular Uribe after two, four-year authorization of the office.
In a field of nine candidate and the subsequent far behind the Cambio Radical German Vargas Lleras, with 10 percent of the vote and left-wing Gustavo Petro, with nine percent.
Nearly half of Colombia 29900000 voters participate in Sunday's election, election board said.
Proponents of Santos, 58, erupted in cheers and song when the results showed their applicant had clinched the election.
"This is your victory, Mr. President," said Santos, dedicating his first-round victory for the outgoing president.
Mockus was content with the results.
"Today we have reached a goal that was impossible a few months ago: go to a second round," he told hundreds of supporters at his movement headquarters.
"If we are creative, we will win this second round. We know that jointly we can change society radically. We know that violence, inequality and corruption are not our fate, but the problems we can solve," he said.
Despite threats to voters to stay away from the polls of the nations largest and oldest guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the election was the most peaceful in decades, "said Interior Minister Fabio Valencia.
"It has been a success for the forces of law and order," he told reporters. "We have cut election-related violence by 78 percent, creation this the most peaceful Election Day in the last 40 years."
The press, but said four soldiers were killed Sunday and seven explosive devices were removed when the troops and the FARC guerrillas clashed in southern Caqueta department.
It is estimated that 340,000 security forces were mobilized to ensure that voice, "Defense Minister Gabriel Silva earlier Sunday.
Deputy Interior Viviana Manrique said that there were 118 reports of election manipulation during the day, including illegal political campaign and voters threats.
Uribe, who enjoys enormous popularity to bring a greater degree of security and prosperity to a country ravaged for decades by political violence, were among the first to vote.
His candidate, Santos, has fought on a promise of continuity, promise to preserve the legacy of his former boss, who is credited with reducing the FARC, half the 2002 strength.
For his part, Mockus candidate for Green Party has centered his campaign on a return to "morality and law in Colombia, the world's largest manufacturer of cocaine.
Just before the election, Santos also pointed out that the country had changed, evokes an atmosphere of unprecedented "peace and tranquility" that has surrounded the campaign.
Eight years ago, the day Uribe was inaugurated, three rockets and a gas tank exploded next to the presidential palace, killing around 20 people.
"No one would dare to do it now," said Santos, who points to an influx of investors and tourists as a sign of new-found stability.
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