Petro leads with 65% of Colombia presidential votes counted

Leftist ex-guerrilla Gustavo Petro took the lead over millionaire businessman rival Rodolfo Hernandez in early results of Colombia's presidential vote on Sunday, according to a live count on the Latin American country's election authority website.

With 65 percent of votes counted, former mayor of Bogota Petro, 62, led by more than four points with nearly 600,000 more votes than maverick outsider Hernandez, 77.

The winner will succeed deeply unpopular conservative Ivan Duque, who was barred from standing for reelection.