Colombian people shock by 'rejecting' peace

On October 2, the Colombian Statistics Agency announced that with 99.59% of votes counted, 50.23% of voters in the country rejected the new peace agreement signed between the Government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in a referendum.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez at the peace agreement signing ceremony in Cartagena, Colombia on September 26. (Source: AFP/TTXVN)

According to the above source, the number of supporters only reached 49.76%. This is a completely unexpected result for the Colombian people and the international community.

The results were announced just 90 minutes after the polls closed.

Voters choose between two options: yes or no to the agreement. Voting is not mandatory.

According to President Santos, the Government has no backup plan and in case the people say no to the signed document, the agreement will be cancelled.

Opponents of the peace deal, led by former Presidents Andrés Pastrana and Alvaro Uribe, say the text reached between the government and the FARC will help the group's fighters escape prosecution for crimes they have committed and will fail to resolve the war on drugs.

According to VIETNAM+