Former Mayor Leads Polls in Bogota Election Race

Enrique Peñalosa, who served as mayor of Bogota, Colombia, from 1998 to 2001, emerged as the favorite in a new poll released Friday, which was conducted by Ipsos Napoleon Franco for a consortium of Colombian media outlets.

The center-left Peñalosa received 33 percent support, outpacing his nearest rival, Rafael Pardo by 16 points. Pardo is an ally of current president, Juan Manuel Santos and served as his labor minister.

In third place was Clara Lopez, the leftist former presidential candidate who is running on behalf of the Democratic Pole, with 12 percent support. Lopez had been leading early polls, though trends showed her support steadily decreasing.

In last place was Francisco Santos, a close ally of far-right former president Alvaro Uribe with only 8 percent support.

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​Other candidates received a minuscule amount of support, including Maria Mercedes Maldonado, who is seen is the chosen successor of current mayor Gustavo Petro, and received less than 1 percent support.

Petro was temporarily ousted as mayor in 2014 after Colombia's conservative inspector-general ordered his removal and banned him from holding public office for 15 years. He was eventually reinstated after mass protests and a court ruling.

The post of mayor of Bogota is seen as the second-most important political office in Colombia. The election will take place on Oct. 25, 2015 with the winner chosen through a plurality of votes.