By Carlos Vargas, Nelson Bocanegra and Luis Jaime Acosta
BOGOTA, May 31 (Reuters) - Colombian right-wing outsider Abelardo de la Espriella is set to compete in a runoff election for president against leftist senator Ivan Cepeda, voting results from the first-round election showed on Sunday.
The two men were separated by just a few percentage points with more than 97% of votes counted, data from the country's national registry office showed, in a tight contest that focused on security, the economy and populist policies.
Lawyer De La Espriella received 43.7% of the votes and Cepeda, a long-time senator and activist, held just under 41%, the data showed.
De La Espriella, who has never held elected office, has drawn comparisons with El Salvador's Nayib Bukele over his style and policy proposals.
Portraying himself as an outsider free from political baggage, De La Espriella, 47, has proposed a tough offensive against illegal armed groups, the construction of 10 megaprisons, and poverty reduction through better education, healthcare and housing for the poorest.
Cepeda, a 63-year-old lawmaker, has been leading opinion polls, but surveys suggested he will face a much tougher contest in the second round, once right-leaning and centrist voters no longer have multiple candidates to choose from.
Low turnout at Sunday's vote may give the candidates room to maneuver, however, if they can convince more supporters to vote in the runoff on June 21. Just over half the 41 million eligible voters cast ballots on Sunday, figures from the registry office showed.
Cepeda, the son of a murdered communist leader, has promised to pursue peace with illegal armed groups through negotiations, an approach that has brought little progress under current leader, President Gustavo Petro.
He also plans to deepen reforms meant to reduce inequality and poverty, including by raising taxes on high-income earners, granting 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) to victims of the country's six-decade internal conflict, and expanding healthcare coverage.
De La Espriella, who has legally represented controversial figures including former Venezuelan minister Alex Saab, has warned that Cepeda would ensure the continuation of Petro's economic policies, including a ban on new oil projects, which have drawn criticism from establishment politicians and investors.
The lawyer says he has financed his campaign with his own resources, without receiving donations from parties or large companies. Reuters could not independently verify that claim.
Paloma Valencia, a senator backed by former President Alvaro Uribe, had until recently been the leading right-wing candidate in the race, but she captured fewer than 7% of the votes.
(Reporting by Carlos Vargas, Luis Jaime Acosta, Nelson Bocanegra and Julia Symmes Cobb, Editing by Julia Symmes Cobb, Deepa Babington, Chris Reese and Edmund Klamann)
