New poll finds overwhelming majority in Colombia to vote ‘yes’ to FARC peace deal

A poll released Wednesday showed that more than two-thirds of Colombians who plan to vote on a peace deal with a FARC would approve it, contradicting earlier polls that suggested much lower support.

According to the poll carried out by Invamer, 67.5% would vote in favor and only 32.5% would vote against.

The latest poll shows a major discrepancy with polls carried out by competitor Ipsos that showed Colombians are about as divided as possible over whether to ratify or reject the peace deal that’s been negotiated since 2011.

In fact, a poll by Datexco released Tuesday indicated that a little less than 53% would vote in favor the peace deal and a bit more than 47% would vote against.

Datexco’s poll record shows how volatile support is and how neither campaign should be the least secure of a victory in the plebiscite that will determine the future of the country.


Support for plebiscite according to Datexco

The centrist government of President Juan Manuel Santos has been joined by the leftist opposition to promote a “Yes” vote.

The conservative minority in Congress, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, has been campaigning for a “No” vote.

To win the plebiscite, either campaign will have to obtain a minimum of 13% of support of the electorate and more votes than the opponent.

While negotiators are finalizing details of the deal and the United Nations has begun with the inspection of sites where the FARC would demobilize and disarm, a date for the plebiscite is yet to be set.

In the meantime, the “Yes” campaign is trying to sway public opinion to accepting peace with the FARC after decades of propaganda promoting the war against the designated terrorist group.

The “No” campaign has claimed it supports peace as much as the “Yes” campaign but opposes the deal because it allegedly is too lenient for the FARC in terms of justice and will allow the Marxist rebels access to politics.

The exact date for the plebiscite will be set once the government has finalized negotiations with the guerrillas.

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