Poll: Colombians unhappy with court’s referendum rejection

A poll released Monday shows that a majority of Colombians are unhappy with the Constitutional Court ruling on Friday, which prevents President Uribe running for a third term.

Semana magazine, FM and RCN radio and television conducted the survey. Of those polled, 57% said they reacted unfavorably towards the court’s decision to strike down the referendum on changing the constitution to let Uribe stand again, while 42% reacted favorably.

One out of ten people said they were surprised by the ruling. Of those surveyed, 19% said they felt “rage and pain” at the results, with 8% feeling “despair.” On the other hand, 20% said they reacted with “jubilation.”

Results were split down the middle when it came to whether Colombians agreed with the court’s decision, with 46% saying they disagreed and an equal percentage saying they agreed.

The survey contradicts two previous polls conducted earlier in February which showed that the referendum was losing popular support.

Conservative candidate Juan Manuel Santos is favored in another survey conducted by Semana magazine, leading the other candidates with 23% in voter support. Polo Democratico’s candidate, Gustavo Petro, follows with 11%, then liberal candidates Germán Vargas Lleras and Sergio Fajardo tied at third place with 9%.

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