Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels are willing to seek peace with whoever wins Sunday's presidential runoff but are also confident they can survive a renewed military offensive promised by the right-wing frontrunner.
Colombians will choose a successor to leftist President Gustavo Petro, who tried but failed to ink major peace deals with armed groups. Petro's ally Ivan Cepeda has promised to continue the strategy to end the country's more than 60 years of internal conflict but is trailing in the polls behind right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella, who has pledged a crackdown on illegal armed groups like the ELN.
The group, which has more than 6,000 members between armed fighters and unarmed support, has held peace talks with various governments since 1991, but failed to reach any final agreement due to a diffuse chain of command and internal disagreements between fronts, which can complicate negotiations, security sources say, as well as its hardline positions on land reform, the departure of extractive companies, and disarmament.
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