BBC News
Colombians vote for 'safe pair of hands' as president
May 31st--In the end, it seems Colombians were more comfortable with continuity than change when they cast their votes in Sunday's presidential election.
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uan Manuel Santos, the former defence minister who helped to implement President Alvaro Uribe's hard-line, US-backed security policies, scored a decisive win with nearly 47% of the vote.
"I must confess that I am very excited and I receive these results with humility," said Mr Santos. "Today Colombia won, today democracy won."
But Mr Santos's win was just short of the outright majority needed to prevent the contest going to a second round on 20 June.
Up against him will be Antanas Mockus of the Green Party, who took just 21%, far below what the opinion polls had suggested a week ago when they placed him neck-and-neck with Mr Santos.
His proposals to clean up politics and do away with the corruption that has dogged the last years of Mr Uribe's administration were embraced by many Colombians.
But when it came down to marking the ballot paper, most opted for the safe pair of hands that Mr Santos represents.
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