BOGOTA, April 26 (Reuters) - Colombia's ruling left-wing coalition appears poised to retain power, with Ivan Cepeda leading the presidential race on 44.3% support and on track to continue President Gustavo Petro's agenda against a divided right-wing opposition, a poll showed on Sunday.
The Pacto Historico candidate would defeat either of his main rivals in a June runoff, with the political right split between businessman Abelardo De La Espriella at 21.5% and hardline opposition figure Paloma Valencia at 19.8%, per pollster Invamer.
BY THE NUMBERS
• The survey was based on 3,800 personal interviews and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2%. It was published by Noticias Caracol and Blu Radio.
• Cepeda's popularity gained 7.2 percentage points since Invamer's February poll, while Valencia jumped 9.8 points and De La Espriella increased his support by 2.6 points.
• In a runoff against De La Espriella, Cepeda would win 54.6% to 42.6%; against Valencia, he would prevail 51.2% to 46.6%.
• Center-left contenders Claudia Lopez and Sergio Fajardo trail far behind, with 3.6% and 2.5% support, respectively, leaving them effectively out of contention.
WHY IT MATTERS
• Cepeda has vowed to deepen social reforms aimed at tackling poverty and inequality under what he calls President Petro's "change government."
• More than 41 million Colombians will vote on May 31, with a potential June 21 runoff if no candidate secures an outright majority.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
