Columbian Conservative wins presidential election

Conservative Belisario Betancur emerged the likely winner in Colombia's presidential election, promising to lift the country's state of siege, offer a generous settlement to leftist guerrillas, and boost the economy.

With 82 percent of the vote counted Monday, Mr. Betancur had a 12 percent lead over Liberal candidate Alfonso Lopez Michelsen. Partial results showed more than half of Colombia's 13.7 million electorate voted in the election.