No Green breakthrough in Colombia

Today, Colombians went to the polls in the first round of presidential elections. Up until last week, it was expected that the Green candidate, Antanas Mockus, would make a strong showing, strong enough to win the second round and become the world's first Green head of state. Unfortunately, things didn't work out like that:

Former Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos has won the first round of the country's presidential election.

With almost all the ballots counted, Mr Santos - who is supported by popular incumbent Alvaro Uribe - is credited with about 47% of the vote.

His main rival, Antanas Mockus of the Green Party, achieved 21%.

Although Mr Santos failed to win outright, he is expected to get the support of some defeated candidates and to win the 20 June run-off.

So the polls, which have been consistently reporting Santos and Mockus neck-in-neck, were horribly wrong. Those polling companies should really be looking at their methodology.

A Green breakthrough in Colombia?

This weekend, Colombia will go to the polls in presidential elections. And according to the Independent, they look set to elect the world's first Green head of state:

If Antanas Mockus wins the Colombian elections – and polls indicate that he will – he won't be your average president. Not only did he make his name when rector of the National University by dropping his pants and mooning a packed auditorium of rioting students, but he has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. And then there's his party. If the 58-year-old is elected, he will be the first Green head of state in the world.

Given the two-round process, we will likely have to wait until June 20 for the final result - and things could change radically before then. But even getting a Green as one of the top two candidates is an enormous achievement.