Colombia Hold Hold FARC Peace Deal REferendum Sunday Oct 02,2016

Colombians voted in a referendum on Sunday on whether to ratify a historic peace accord to end a 52-year war between the state and the communist FARC rebels.

The accord will effectively end what is seen as the last major armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere. The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.

The government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says it has no Plan B if voters reject the accord

Colombians are sick of war, even though many resent making concessions to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which has carried out killings, kidnappings and extortion.

Now citizens were voting on the question: “Do you support the final accord to end the conflict and to build a stable and lasting peace?” 

Polls opened at 1300 GMT across the country and were due to close at 2100 GMT, with a result expected soon after. Around 35 million of Colombia’s 48 million people were eligible to vote. 

Voters reject Farc peace deal referendum

Voters in Colombia have rejected a landmark peace deal with Farc rebels in a shock referendum result, with 50.2% voting against it.

How did it happen?

Colombians were asked to endorse or reject the peace agreement in a popular vote on Sunday
The "yes" campaign had the backing not just of President Santos but of a wide array of politicians both in Colombia and abroad, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
But there was also a vocal campaign for a "no" vote, led by former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
Polls conducted ahead of Sunday's vote suggested a comfortable win for the "yes" campaign.
But in a surprise result, 50.2% of voters rejected the agreement compared with 49.8% who voted for it.
The difference with 98.98% of the votes counted was less than 54,000 votes out of almost 13 million ballots.
Turnout was low with fewer than 38% of voters casting their votes

Who voted how?

Colombia was divided regionally with most of the outlying provinces voting in favour of the agreement and those nearer the capital and inland voting against it.

In Choco, one of the provinces hardest hit by the conflict, 80% of voters backed the deal.
In the town of Bojaya, where at least 119 people were killed when a church was hit by Farc mortar bombs, 96% of residents voted "yes".
Colombia's capital, Bogota, also voted "yes" with 56%.
The province of Vaupes, in the east of the country, also registered strong support for the deal, with 78% voting in favour.
Vaupes has also seen its share of conflict, including the attack on the town of Mitu, which the rebels seized control of in 1998 after taking a large number of police officers hostage. Some of the officers were held hostage by the Farc for 12 years before being freed by the army in 2010.
In the eastern province of Casanare on the other hand, 71.1 % voted against the deal.
It is an area where farmers and landowners have for years been extorted by the Farc and other illegal groups.
In Antioquia, the home state of ex-President Uribe, 62% rejected the deal

Why did people vote 'no'?

Most of those who voted "no" said they thought the peace agreement was letting the rebels "get away with murder".
Under the agreement, special courts would have been created to try crimes committed during the conflict.
Those who confessed to their crimes would have been given more lenient sentences and would have avoided serving any time in conventional prisons.
This, for many Colombians, was one step too far.
They also balked at the government's plan to pay demobilised Farc rebels a monthly stipend and to offer those wanting to start a business financial help.
"No" voters said this amounted to a reward for criminal behaviour while honest citizens were left to struggle financially.
Many also said that they simply did not trust the rebels to keep their promise to lay down arms for good.
They pointed to previous failed peace negotiations when the rebels took advantage of a lull in fighting to regroup and rearm as evidence that the Farc had broken their word before.
Others were unhappy that under the agreement, the Farc would be guaranteed 10 seats in the Colombian Congress in the 2018 and 2022 elections.
They said this would give the newly created party an unfair advantage.

What will happen next?

President Santos said that the bilateral ceasefire between government forces and the Farc would remain in place.
He has told government negotiators to travel to to Cuba to consult Farc leaders on the next move.
President Santos has promised to "continue the search for peace until the last moment of my mandate because that's the way to leave a better country to our children".
"I won't give up," he said.
The Farc leader known as Timochenko also said that the rebels remained committed to securing an end to the conflict.
"The Farc reiterates its disposition to use only words as a weapon to build toward the future," he said after the result.
"Count on us, peace will triumph."