Colombia vote pits Uribe ally against ex-mayor

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombians voted on Sunday for a successor to President Alvaro Uribe in an election pitting a veteran government minister who waged war on leftist rebels against an eccentric former mayor vowing to battle corruption.

Front-runners former Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos and former Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus both promise to maintain Uribe's security policies, but polls show neither can win the more than 50 percent needed to avoid a June runoff.

A key U.S. ally in the region, Uribe steps down still popular after two terms dominated by his war against drug-trafficking rebels, and his pro-business approach that increased foreign investment five-fold. He was barred by a constitutional court from seeking a third term.

Santos, one of Uribe's staunchest supporters, is tied in most polls with Mockus, the son of Lithuanian immigrants and a former university professor who surged in support with a Green party campaign against graft and "politics as usual."

The two are also running close in opinion polls for the June 20 runoff. The four other main candidates are far behind.

With a sunflower, the constitution and a pencil as his symbols, Mockus won support from young and urban voters by promising clean government and education. Santos proved stronger in rural areas once battered by the country's war.

"Just like Colombians have recovered our security, now the priority is to overcome all illegality," Mockus said in a column in El Tiempo newspaper on Sunday.

Their country safer, most Colombians are now more concerned with jobs, education and healthcare than violence, and many are weary of the scandals that marred Uribe's second term.

The next leader inherits better security and investment but also a slow economic recovery, a wide deficit, double-digit unemployment and a trade dispute with Venezuela, where socialist President Hugo Chavez is riled over U.S. influence.

"When you vote you have to think about yourself, you have to think about jobs, that there will be some movement in jobs," said Carlos Rengifo, a construction worker voting in northern Bogota where military police stood guard nearby.

Latin America's No. 4 oil producer and a top coal and coffee exporter, Colombia is enjoying a boom in energy and mining investment, but the next president must manage an influx of commodity dollars that will pressure the peso.

Both front-runners say they will keep pro-market economic policies applauded by investors, and analysts see little long-term impact on the peso or local TES bonds whoever wins.

TURNAROUND UNDER URIBE

Once mired in fighting among paramilitaries, rebels and cocaine lords, Colombia enjoyed a dramatic turnaround under Uribe, whose own father was killed by FARC guerrillas.

Backed by billions of dollars in U.S. aid, Uribe sent troops to reclaim areas once under the control of armed groups, and kidnappings, bombings and massacres dropped sharply.

Poor infrastructure and a weak state presence still affect rural areas, where conflict forces peasants off their land and drug routes make Colombia the world's No. 1 cocaine exporter.

Many Colombians thank Uribe for making towns and highways safer, but his last four years were marked by scandals over corruption, investigations into soldiers killing citizens and charges state agents illegally wiretapped his opponents.

Alliances will be key in a second round. As head of Uribe's U Party, Santos will seek out the Conservative and Cambio Radical parties. Mockus, whose Green Party has few seats in Congress, claims the moderate, middle ground.

"There will be fierce competition for the backers of the other candidates," said Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin America program at the Woodrow Wilson Centre.

Santos would count on strong backing in the Congress where his party is the largest political bloc, but Mockus could struggle to push through ambitious reforms with only a few seats in the legislature.

Santos, a U.S.- and British-educated economist whose great- uncle was president, points to his experience as finance, trade and defence minister. But some voters associate the former newspaper editor with government scandals.

Mockus, whose beard gives him the air of a preacher, once dropped his pants as a university director to get the attention of unruly students. As mayor, he donned a superhero suit to inspire residents to follow civic rules.

The French-educated mathematician and philosopher was praised for his fiscal discipline and tough line on crime when he helped turn around once-chaotic Bogota. But critics say his meandering style and lack of national experience show he is not the decisive leader a country like Colombia needs.

(Editing by Peter Cooney and Vicki Allen)

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