The announcement by presidential hopeful Sergio Fajardo that he will not take part in the interparty primaries scheduled for March 2026 and will instead go directly to the first round in May clarifies the electoral landscape in Colombia, although it also complicates the strategy of the right, which still has not achieved the consensus it needs to present a viable candidacy.
Just as the deadline arrives for deciding the pre-candidacies that will compete in the March primary, Fajardo confirmed his decision through a statement on his social media accounts, where he defended his conviction that “primaries are not the way,” since he believes those mechanisms end up strengthening the extremes and weakening the center.
His determination marks a break with the idea of a broad center-right or moderate-center coalition participating in a joint selection process, and it redefines the electoral board ahead of 2026, with implications both for his potential allies and for the sectors that were expecting a common front to compete against the most polarized poles of Colombian politics.
Sergio Fajardo to run solo in Colombia’s first-round presidential election
In his statement, Fajardo emphasizes that there is a collective weariness in the country toward polarization. According to him, interparty primaries do not build unity but instead exacerbate a factional logic: Right versus left, opposing extremes, which, in his view, ultimately strangles the center.
The former governor of Antioquia proposes, instead, an alternative based on broad agreements and consensus that transcend the traditional labels of right or left. His goal is to bring together moderate people — from both sides of the ideological spectrum — who share pragmatic solutions to the country’s problems. His call is to form a “new majority” focused on restoring politics’ dimension of governance, accountability, institutional strength, and reduction of conflict.
“The situation in Colombia requires a government that represents not only people from the so-called center, but moderate people from the left to the right who want solutions built on AGREEMENTS and basic consensus, gathered around a new vision for the future.”
La situación de Colombia requiere un gobierno que represente no solo a personas del llamado centro, sino a personas moderadas desde la izquierda, hasta la derecha que quieren soluciones a partir de ACUERDOS y consensos básicos, reunidos alrededor de un nuevo relato de futuro.… pic.twitter.com/DdBKIUGxC1
— Sergio Fajardo (@sergio_fajardo) December 8, 2025
Under this approach, Fajardo seeks to present himself as the figure capable of uniting moderate sectors dissatisfied with polarization, convinced that any future government should represent a diversity that goes beyond traditional ideological blocs. However, in the latest voting-intention poll, the centrist candidate obtained 8.5%, far behind the two frontrunners: leftist Ivan Cepeda (31.9%) and right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella (18%).
Risks and questions for the centrist electorate
The decision not to participate in the primaries has the immediate effect of excluding Fajardo from any formal selection mechanism with other center or right-wing candidates, which for some represents a lost opportunity to build a strong coalition from the outset.
Such a path, combining moderate forces, could have offered a barrier against candidates with more radical rhetoric. Many analysts and supporters of that option were left waiting to see whether, after the registration of congressional lists, a joint strategy would emerge. Fajardo, however, ruled out that possibility: he insisted that his path would be individual.
This move raises questions about whether the veteran professor will manage to attract sufficient support without going through a primary to consolidate his movement. By distancing himself from early pacts or alliances, he puts on the table the question of whether Colombia’s historically fragmented center will be able to rally its electoral option behind a single individual rather than a broad coalition.
Moreover, the decision highlights his rejection of traditional party-negotiation dynamics, which could generate distrust among sectors accustomed to seeing a presidential candidacy backed by a collective structure well before the first round. For many, this rejection represents a risky bet, since without strong party backing he will have to build electoral machinery, regional support, and territorial alliances from scratch.
A message of moderation or another setback for the right?
By deciding to go it alone, Fajardo sends the message that he intends to present himself as the moderate alternative amid growing polarization, with a profile that seeks to combine pragmatism, agreements, and a return to institutionalism.
His narrative — centered on unity beyond labels — targets those who feel discontent with ideological confrontation and long for a consensus-driven government capable of addressing structural problems without resorting to extremes.
This approach, while potentially appealing to an electorate tired of polarization, also faces the need to prove that it is possible to translate a moderate discourse into a solid electoral structure capable of competing in the national race. Fajardo seems aware of this, as he has stated that “the real challenge is who can add up and unite a new majority for the future.”
Nevertheless, his decision can also be interpreted as a closed door to the right’s need to forge alliances and expand its base in the face of the left’s unity. With Fajardo’s rejection, the conservative discourse — still lacking a clear candidate — runs the risk of becoming even more radicalized and losing the centrism it needs to reclaim the presidency.
What remains to be seen is whether Fajardo’s strategy will bear fruit in a political landscape where polarization remains alive and coalitions will, as always, be a key ingredient — though this time in the hands of those capable of turning scattered votes into a true majority.