Paloma Valencia May Join Colombia Right Wing’s ‘Gran Consulta’ for 2026

Written on 12/22/2025
Josep Freixes
Paloma Valencia will participate in “La Gran Consulta,” the option that is shaping up to be the benchmark for the Colombian right wing in 2026. Credit: Colombian Senate.

The possibility that Senator and presidential pre-candidate Paloma Valencia could take part in March in the right wing’s interparty consultation, known as the “Gran Consulta,” has begun to reshuffle the political landscape ahead of the May 2026 presidential elections. What until a few weeks ago seemed a remote option is now gaining traction as a pragmatic way out for a political sector that is entering the formal start of the electoral calendar, fragmented.

Valencia’s potential participation in this mechanism would represent a strategic shift for the Democratic Center, which for months has defended the idea of fielding its own candidate through the first round. However, the current context — marked by dispersed leadership and the need to build majorities — has pushed the party to reconsider that stance and to take a greater interest in a joint selection process.

In fact, the latest polls showed a negligible voting intention for the party of former president Alvaro Uribe, so joining the “Gran Consulta” could revive prospects both for the Democratic Center and, above all, for the right wing seeking to regain in 2026 the power it lost after the victory of Gustavo Petro in 2022.

Paloma Valencia may join Colombia right wing’s ‘Gran Consulta’ for 2026

The so-called Gran Consulta is being proposed as a scenario in which different right-wing parties and precandidates will test their strength to choose a single contender. The logic behind the mechanism is simple: To avoid the dispersion of the vote in the first round and reach May 2026 with a candidacy that represents a broad bloc, capable of competing with left-wing options and the centrist Sergio Fajardo, who are already working on their own coordination.

In this context, the figure of Paloma Valencia takes on particular weight. She is not only one of the most visible voices of Uribismo — recently chosen as that movement’s presidential hopeful, ahead of Maria Fernanda Cabal and Paola Holguin — but also a leader with national recognition and a discourse consistent with her party’s historic banners.

Her potential entry into the consultation would be read as a sign of openness and, at the same time, as a political calculation aimed at maximizing the sector’s electoral chances, especially after the bleak scenario outlined by polls for a party that for years capitalized on Colombia’s most belligerent right wing.

A key element in this scenario was the statement by former president Alvaro Uribe, the political leader of the Democratic Center, who said he will abide by the final decision Valencia makes regarding her participation in the consultation. The message, brief but forceful, dispelled doubts about possible internal vetoes and made it clear that the party leadership will not stand in the way if the precandidate chooses to measure herself against other right-wing hopefuls.

“At the request of our candidate Paloma Valencia, yesterday there was an intense dialogue with the parliamentary caucus and some candidates for elected bodies. This morning, it will continue with the coordination of the party director. For my part, I will abide by the final decision of our candidate Senator Paloma, whom we will support with all our enthusiasm,” Uribe wrote this morning on his account on the social network X.

This conditional backing has a dual effect. On the one hand, it strengthens Valencia’s political autonomy, leaving her free to make a strategic decision without facing a head-on clash with the party leadership. On the other, it sends a signal to the rest of the right-wing sectors by showing that the Democratic Center is willing to explore formulas for unity, even if that means ceding prominence at an initial stage.

In search of the necessary unity, after months of fractures

Valencia’s potential participation in the “Gran Consulta” — where she would face other right-wing hopefuls such as Mauricio Cardenas, David Luna, Juan Daniel Oviedo, Vicky Davila, Anibal Gaviria, Daniel Palacios, and Juan Manuel Galan — would, above all, represent a first concrete sign of unity after months of disagreements.

The differences have not only emerged between right-wing parties and pre-candidates, but also — and very tellingly — within the Democratic Center itself, where differing views have coexisted regarding electoral strategy, timing, and the profile of the ideal candidate. This situation led to the withdrawal from the presidential race of Senator Andres Guerra and the scandalous expulsion of Miguel Uribe Londoño.

Internal tensions, compounded by rifts with other like-minded sectors, have weakened perceptions of cohesion within the opposition bloc. In that context, an agreement to take part in an interparty consultation would make it possible to turn the page on the most visible disputes and focus the debate on proposals and leadership, under previously agreed rules.

Last night, independent candidate Vicky Davila confirmed meetings between the “Gran Consulta” bloc and Paloma Valencia. “This Sunday morning, Dec. 21, the six members of the ‘Gran Consulta’ for Colombia met with presidential candidate Paloma Valencia. She expressed her interest in being part of this consultation on March 8, 2026. After a frank conversation with a spirit of unity and a sense of purpose for the country, we welcome her to this team,” she wrote.

For Paloma Valencia, taking part in a broad consultation means exposing herself to direct competition with other right-wing leaders, some with different political trajectories and electorates and who, according to polls, a priori enjoy higher voting intention than the senator from the Uribista camp.

However, the opportunities are also clear. A strong showing in the consultation would consolidate her as a competitive figure beyond the boundaries of traditional Uribismo, which does not appear to be living its best moment after having enjoyed total hegemony within the right until a few years ago and having, with the legacy of former President Alvaro Uribe, support that just over a decade ago was a majority in the country.

Valencia herself confirmed contacts with this bloc, which in just a few days has taken shape as the main electoral reference of the Colombian right, beyond the current polling favorite, the independent Abelardo de la Espriella.

“I met with the members of ‘La Gran Consulta por Colombia’ and I appreciate their invitation and their effort toward unity. Let’s talk with the members of our party to decide that the great team of Democratic Center is comfortable with and encouraged by,” she wrote before Uribe “blessed” this option, which is gaining increasing momentum and would consolidate the right’s prospects for 2026.