Bogota:
Parliamentary elections in Colombia will take place on March 9 and the first round of the presidential poll will be on May 25, electoral authorities said on Monday.
President Juan Manuel Santos, a conservative, has already declared his intention to seek a second term which would run from 2014-2018, giving him the chance to help shepherd a peace deal with FARC guerrillas into reality.
But former president Alvaro Uribe, a staunch opponent to the peace talks, is set to run for a seat in the Senate and a parliamentary majority for his camp could lead to a suspension of the negotiations.
Santos's main rival for another term is likely to be former finance minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, who has the backing of Uribe. The former president Uribe cannot stand for election under the constitution because he has already served two terms.
A second round for the presidential vote will be held in June if no candidate wins a majority in the first round.
The government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been in peace talks in Havana for a year.
The FARC has some 7,000 to 8,000 fighters and is Colombia's largest rebel group.