Overwhelming support for peace in Colombia | World News |Axisoflogic.com

A woman celebrates the signing of a historic cease-fire deal between the Colombian government and FARC rebels, at Botero square in Medellin, Colombia, June 23, 2016. | Photo: Reuters

A new poll found that 74 percent of Colombians would vote in favor of a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Three out of four people polled said they would back the “Yes” side in an upcoming plebiscite regarding a peace deal with the FARC.

The poll, which was carried out by the National Consulting Center and published Tuesday by CM&, was the first to be released since the Constitutional Court of Colombia gave the green light to the approval mechanism proposed by the government of Juan Manuel Santos.

The Court also ruled that a threshold of 13 percent of the electorate was sufficient for the deal to be approved in the event of a victory of the “Yes” side, meaning the peace deal is likely to be approved.

"The Constitutional Court gave its approval so that we citizens can decide the future of the peace at the voting booth. This was my promise from the beginning of the process. This was a solemn commitment with my countrymen. I made a commitment to you to do this because the peace is a national proposition and objective of all Colombians, without exception," said Santos after the court's announcement Monday.

The peace process is supported by nearly every political party in Colombia, save for the party led by former far-right President Alvaro Uribe.

However, even Uribe has recently made gestures that he is willing to support the peace deal, with a number of conditions.

The about-face by Uribe, who has long advocated against the peace process, could be explained by the overwhelming support for the peace deal and his subsequent worry that he and his party could be marginalized in Colombian politics as a result.

Uribe's conditions, which includes reopening items already agreed upon at the negotiating table, are unlikely to be embraced.

Despite the loosening of Uribe's stance, his party, the Democratic Center, is expected to announce their position on the peace plebiscite soon. They are expected to call for either a “No” vote or for abstention.

The Constitutional Court has given the government four months to finalize the peace deal and call for a plebiscite.

The text of the deal must be made available to Colombians ahead of the vote and the court has called for the government to take measures to ensure all can read it, including translating the deal into Indigenous languages.

"It will be a historic moment, truly historical, in which we will have the opportunity and the responsibility to make our voices heard because what is at play is of utmost importance. It is probably the most important vote decision each of us will have to make in our lives,” said Santos.

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