Historic leftist win in first round of Colombian presidential vote

Colombians clamouring for "change" gave a leftist ex-guerrilla an historic lead Sunday in a first round of presidential elections that will culminate in a runoff against a maverick outsider in June.

With more than 99 percent of votes counted, preliminary results showed 62-year-old Gustavo Petro, a former Bogota mayor, taking 40.3 percent.

He now has a shot at becoming Colombia's first-ever leftist president and wresting power from the political and economic elites historically at the helm.

Rodolfo Hernandez, a 77-year-old millionaire and himself an ex-mayor, came out of left field to snatch second place with 28 percent of the vote, denying Petro the 50 percent-plus needed for an outright, first-round win.

Hernandez, who ran on an anti-corruption platform, also edged out right-winger Federico Gutierrez -- a former mayor of second city Medellin who carried the hopes of establishment parties and who pollsters had predicted would finish in second place.

On Sunday, Petro vowed "real change" if elected, and promised to pursue "social justice and economic stability."

"A company cannot grow if society is impoverished. Profits cannot grow sustainably if the majority of the population (suffers from) hunger," he said. 

Analysts say Petro's road to the presidency has been complicated by Hernandez's late surge.

With his anti-establishment, populist reputation, some polls have suggested Hernandez would stand a better chance than Gutierrez at beating Petro in a second round.

The gloves came off as soon as the results were out, with Petro pointing out that Hernandez is under investigation for graft and asking: "Is this what we want?"