Bogota , Colombia ( CNN ) -- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos officially announced he will seek re-election , a decision that could affect the ongoing peace talks between the government and the FARC . `` You elected me to strengthen the results that we had achieved in security , and we have delivered , '' Santos said in a televised speech Wednesday night . Santos , who was first elected in 2010 on a platform of continuing an offensive against the leftist guerrillas that have been at war with the government for decades , instead followed a different path . The hallmark of his presidency now is the peace process between the government and the largest rebel group , the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia , or FARC . The peace process has been ongoing for one year , with progress coming slowly . This approach is controversial in Colombia , which in the past has been burned by failed negotiation attempts . With a peace agreement unlikely to be in place before next year 's presidential election , its chances of success could be foreshadowed by the vote . One of Santos ' rivals for the presidency is Oscar Ivan Zuluaga , who has called for an end to the peace talks and is against giving a political space to the rebels . Zuluaga 's proposal is backed by former President Alvaro Uribe , a former ally of Santos who now favors someone with a hardline stance against the guerrillas . Santos says he wants to be re-elected to finish the peace process he started . `` We still have big challenges , but I 'm convinced that the way to confront them is not only through blood and fire , '' he said . Santos ' current approval rating of about 30 % means his incumbency will not guarantee him a second four-year term . `` He thinks that because of fragmentation among the political parties and that other political leaders also have n't consolidated supporters , he can be re-elected , '' political analyst Jaime Arango said . Santos placed all his political capital on the negotiations with the FARC , so it 's natural that he is seeking re-election , another analyst , Vicente Torrijos , said . Seeking a second term was his only option given that the peace process is still underway , he said . `` So he is going to present himself to Colombians and the world as the peacemaker and of course this is his best calling card to aspire to this re-election , '' he said . GPS BLOG : Can Colombia build on its democratic opening ? Journalist Fernando Ramos reported from Bogota . CNN 's Mariano Castillo reported and wrote the story in Atlanta .
Juan Manuel Santos announced he will run for re-election . The former Colombian president has been in office since 2006 and is the longest serving leader of Latin America. The peace process could hinge on the electoral outcome .