BOGOTA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Colombia's presidential race is likely to head to a runoff between progressive candidate Gustavo Petro and his conservative rival Federico Gutierrez, according to a poll published on Friday.
Nine days before the May 29 presidential elections, a survey by polling firm Invamer showed Petro has taken the lead with 40.6 percent of the voter support, followed by Gutierrez with 27.1 percent.
Another conservative candidate, Rodolfo Hernandez, appeared to be gaining strength, with 20.9 percent of the support, the survey showed.
A candidate must garner 50 percent of the vote to win the first round, pointing to a likely runoff, said Martin Orozco, head of Invamer.
"With 40.6 percent, Gustavo Petro is moving away from the possibility of winning in the first round, because we would have to get another 10 percent against the two relatively strong candidates," Orozco said.
"There is an important conclusion: if the elections were today, then the runoff would be between Petro and Gutierrez. But in the survey we released 15 days ago, Hernandez was at 14 percent and now he is at 21 percent. That's seven more points," Orozco noted.
A runoff will be held on June 19, and the winner will succeed incumbent Colombian President Ivan Duque on Aug. 7. ■
