BOGOTA, Colombia - Andres Pastrana, a former Bogota mayor who promised to
end rampant political corruption, was elected Sunday as Colombia's next
president. Pastrana was embraced by voters who spurned a key player in the
scandal-tainted administration of President Ernesto Samper.

With nearly all the votes counted, Pastrana, in his second bid for
Colombia's highest office, had 50.5 percent of the vote, compared with 46.4
percent for Horacio Serpa of the governing Liberal Party. Under Colombian
law, Samper was barred from running again.

``I believe that Colombia has really voted for a change,'' Pastrana, of the
opposition Conservative Party, said in a television interview when results
showed him ahead.

Public anger with Samper's tenure apparently helped Pastrana, who was
narrowly defeated by the incumbent in 1994.

Serpa, a populist firebrand and veteran politician, was interior minister
for most of Samper's administration, defending the incumbent in a
corruption scandal that battered Colombia's international image and economy.

The Liberals, who had held the presidency for 12 years, control a majority
in Congress and have a well-entrenched patronage system that gets out the
vote in the provinces.

The May 31 first round of elections was a virtual tie between Pastrana and
Serpa, with independent candidate Noemi Sanin placing a close third.

Sanin, who was backed by anti-corruption forces, refused to endorse either
candidate in Sunday's vote but accused Samper of using a recent public
works spending spree to try to boost Serpa's appeal.

Caravans of horn-honking supporters for both candidates cruised BogotE1's
streets on Sunday. People spilled out of windows and sunroofs, shouting and
waving election banners. On a main artery, a Serpa vehicle crashed into a
car carrying Pastrana backers.

Compared with other recent elections, relatively few attacks by leftist
rebels were reported.

Guerrillas attacked two helicopters Sunday near the southern city of Neiva,
killing two police officers and wounding two, the army said. Since Friday,
guerrillas have kidnapped at least 11 election officials and burned 37
vehicles nationwide.

Samper, criticized for alleged links to drug traffickers, bought the
support of regional political bosses by doling out hundreds of millions of
dollars in public funds. Meanwhile, unemployment soared to 14.5 percent and
the deficit more than doubled.

Like Samper, the 55-year-old Serpa was cleared of any wrongdoing in the
scandal over $6 million in contributions from the Cali drug cartel to
Samper's 1994 campaign -- the president by a loyal congress and Serpa by
the chief prosecutor. Serpa was a top campaign aide and later became
Samper's main defender as interior minister.

Checked-by: Richard Lake