In Colombia, the centre-right party of President Álvaro Uribe has taken the lead in the country's parliamentary elections. Initial results put the Conservative Party in second place and the Liberal Party third.

Almost 30 million Colombians were eligible to vote in Sunday's elections for a new congress, which are regarded as a gauge for the presidential elections to be held later this year.

If eligible for re-election, President Uribe would stand a big chance of winning that race. However, the constitution stipulates that he must stand down this August at the end of his second term.