Colombians Vote “No” in Peace Deal Referendum

A message of peace on the streets in Colombia. Image Credit: AFP

The Colombian people rejected a peace deal brokered by the government with the largest guerrilla rebel force known as the FARC in a referendum that took place on Sunday. The shock referendum result scuttles the deal that was meant to end a war that had lasted 52 years and cost the lives of over 260,000 people.

Nearly 38% of a potential base of 13 million voters reportedly voted, BBC News reports. The “No” vote won by a very narrow margin – fewer than 54,000 votes – and was in response to the ballot question of “Do you support the agreement to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace?”

Polls measuring the mood of the country ahead of the vote had predicted a definite win for the “yes” campaign. During campaigning, President Juan Manuel Santos stated there was no plan B and that the country would return to war if the people rejected the deal.

Supporters of the deal saw the referendum as a means of formalizing the peace agreement signed on 27 September between the government and the FARC. Fifteen Latin American presidents, foreign dignitaries from all over the world and their in-person interpreters had witnessed the signing.

Negotiations for the deal had lasted for four years but ultimately was seen by the people as being too lenient in terms of punishment on the rebels. Any chance for a future peace will depend on the willingness of the FARC to accept stiffer sanctions against them.

Under the terms of the deal, the FARC would have had six months to move their 5,000 on-the-ground soldiers to special zones in the country and hand in their weapons to UN officials. They also would have given up the cocaine production business. In exchange, the rebels would have received 10 seats in the 268-member Congress, political party representation, lenient sentences and no time in prison.

“No” voters indicated they want the rebels to turn in the money earned from trafficking in drugs, spend time in prison, and go through the election process rather than automatically win unelected seats in Congress.

In the hours after the referendum’s results were released, the FARC leader widely known as Timochenko stated the rebels were still interested in ending the conflict and would voluntarily maintain the ceasefire.

The Colombian government will have no choice but to renegotiate the terms of the deal in a way that is more palatable to the Colombian citizenry. President Santos tweeted he still had hope for the future.