Second Peace Plebiscite Possible in Colombia

By teleSUR

09 October 16

 

The head of the FARC's negotiating team said they were willing to meet with Alvaro Uribe in order to find a solution after the surprise result in the plebiscite.

he surprise defeat of the peace plebiscite in Colombia has left the country scrambling to figure out what comes next, however one advisor to the peace talks suggested in an interview with Semana magazine that a second plebiscite could be held in order for the population to reconsider the question.

The notion of holding another vote is likely on the minds of both sides of the negotiating table, though neither has discussed the possibility publicly.

Alvaro Leyva, who has advised various governments in Colombia on peace processes, told the news outlet that the ruling by the Constitutional Court that originally facilitated the plebiscite also granted President Juan Manuel Santos room to call another vote.

"One should follow the judgment of the Constitutional Court on the plebiscite, where it says that if there is No (victory), the president has his entire faculties,” Leyva told Semana in a report published Saturday.

Effectively that means Santos could call another plebiscite. However, another vote on the same exact deal is unlikely to be palatable to the public nor the political forces behind the No vote.

“Maybe there will be some tinkering, but we will go for another plebiscite,” said Leyva.

The head of the negotiating team of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia told reporters that they were willing to meet with the political forces that backed the No vote in the plebiscite, including former far-right President Alvaro Uribe, in order to find an exit to the crisis.

“We will listen to all the voices of the different sectors of the No (vote), and those of the Yes (vote), but primarily those of the victims. We also want to hear from the 20 million people who abstained from voting,” said Ivan Marquez.

While negotiations were still ongoing, the leader of the rebel group, Timoleon Jimenez, reached out the Uribe to discuss their differences but the former president declined.

Peace talks with the FARC began in 2012, carried out in Havana. Four years later, the two parties reached an accord to end a conflict that has killed more than 220,000 people since it began in 1964.

A bilateral ceasefire and end to hostilities was signed in June 2016 with the complete peace accord published in August. However, in a surprise result, a narrow majority rejected the deal in a plebiscite held last Sunday.