Colombia Elections: Colombians vote Sunday in first round of presidential elections

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02:34

Colombia goes to the polls today to elect a new president. It's the first presidential poll since a historic peace agreement. The peace deal ended a 50-year-long conflict between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. But, observers say the deal's future depends on who wins this election. CGTN's Toby Muse has more from Bogota.

If right-wing candidate Ivan Duque becomes president of Colombia, he has promised to keep the country's peace process in place, but he and his supporters want to see some major changes.

MARIA FERNANDA CABAL SENATOR, CENTRO DEMOCRATICO PARTY "The peace will be kept. But of course, we need to make some changes."

Duque wants to see stiffer punishments for the FARC leadership and bar them from running for office.

MARIA FERNANDA CABAL SENATOR, CENTRO DEMOCRATICO PARTY "At least in the transitional justice, go to jail at least for five to eight years. The head of the guerrillas say they will never do that. What kind of peace is that? Instead, they are going to congress."

As part of the peace deal, the FARC was given a small number of seats in congress and will face a justice tribunal, although most believe the leadership will not spend any significant time in prison.

Supporters of the peace accord fear the Centro Democratico may attempt to undermine the agreement entirely. One prominent member of the party talked of ripping up the peace deal entirely.

The government and the FARC say that it must remain as it was negotiated.

SANDRA RAMIREZ FARC LEADER "The deal was signed with the Colombian state, not one government."

The government and the FARC point out the constitutional guarantees included no modifications. But if Duque were to take power, he could alter the peace process by changing the constitution itself.

Antonio Navarro Wolf, a supporter of the peace deal, believes the process could survive minor changes. But if it was gutted, to include imprisoning top leaders, he says thousands of lower-ranking ex-guerrillas could return to the mountains.

ANTONIO NAVARRO WOLF SENATOR, POLO DEMOCRATICO ALTERNATIVO "They have places to go. And they could return to coca. So, they would have places to go and financing, which could spell a new period of conflict."

TOBY MUSE BOGOTA "The Colombian government is trying to start peace talks with a smaller guerrilla group, the ELN. If the deal with the FARC is changed, the rebels may wonder how much they can trust the government. Toby Muse, CGTN, Bogota."