10 INTERVIEW
Colombian Peace Agreement
While media throughout the world have paid much attention to the British referendum, Great Britain is far from the only place where a referendum has taken place that has the potential to shift the course of the country’ s history. In the year 2016 more than 20 countries worldwide organized referenda in which the electorate was given a say in crucial issues such as presidential terms, same-sex marriage and European migration policy( see timeline). In Colombia, the country used a referendum to accept or reject a peace agreement between the government and FARC rebels. The“ yes” campaign was led by President Santos, while the“ no” vote was spearheaded by former President Uribe. The referendum was largely symbolic and was expected to deliver a resounding“ yes” as the final result, insulating the agreement against claims that it did not have popular support. Yet when the votes were tallied, the“ no” side won. E2C asked Carolina Rojas Peña, a Colombian student currently enrolled in a master program here at IOB, to reflect on the surprising result.
E2C: Why did Colombia organize a referendum on the peace agreement?
CRP: The idea that the final peace agreement between the FARC and the government should be endorsed by the Colombian citizens was proposed by President Santos about three years ago. The president did this to gain legitimacy and to make Colombian people feel involved in the process and decision making which would facilitate the implementation of the agreement. However, the referendum was not mandatory, because the president has the power to just send the agreement to Congress for approval without consulting the Colombian citizens. It was meant as a goodwill gesture, but many politicians who also want peace have criticized Santos for taking this risk.
E2C: Do you think the referendum was an appropriate tool to make this decision?
CRP: I think it is a perversion of the term democracy to believe that all decisions should be made by the majority. This supposes that the majority of the population are prepared, well informed and have sufficient knowledge to take important decisions. But in the Colombian case they did not. I imagine people were worried that this huge decision was in their hands without knowing enough about the consequences of either option( yes or no). I think the government needs to be more careful when attempting to have the majority decide on such specialized and complex topic. It should be the responsibility of the government.
United Kingdom
Date: 23 / 06 / 2016 Ref: Brexit Turnout: 65.38 % Outcome: 51.89 % leave, 48.11 % stay
Thailand
Date: 07 / 08 / 2016 Ref: constitutional referendum Turnout: 59.40 % Outcome: 61.35 % for, 38.65 % against
Bahamas Bermuda
Date: 07 / 06 / 2016 Ref: Constitutional referendum
Exchange to change January 2017
Date: 23 / 06 / 2016 Ref: Bermudian same-sex union and marriage referendum Turnout: 46.89 % Outcome: 31.46 % for, 68.54 % against 36.97 % for, 63.03 % against