Petro drops constituent assembly bid 17 days before Colombia's presidential runoff

The committee that had promoted a National Constituent Assembly championed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Thursday that it was halting the collection of signatures and withdrawing the project to reform the 1991 Constitution. The decision, taken 17 days before the June 21 presidential runoff, seeks to clear the way for the governing bloc's candidate, Senator Iv n Cepeda, in a move that reshapes the electoral landscape.

The announcement was made by Way u indigenous leader Armando Wouriyu Valbuena, a member of the committee, who said the measure aims to build broad consensus capable of halting the advance of far-right sectors. The committee, which had gathered nearly two million signatures —of the five million it aimed to reach by July 20— said it would now focus its efforts on the candidacy of Cepeda and his running mate, A da Quilcu , and on building a Great National Agreement.

Petro, who had pressed the project for much of his term, backed the decision on social media and said the priority now is to define the next government. The president had presented the assembly as a way to enact his social reforms in health, education and labor without going through Congress. The decision was reached after several meetings, including one on Wednesday night at the Catam air base in Bogot .