Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


       Colombia Votes on Congress, Seen as Referendum on FARC Peace Talks

   by VOA News

   Colombians are going to the polls Sunday to choose new legislators in a
   vote seen as a referendum on peace talks with leftist guerrillas and a
   likely foreshadowing of May's presidential election.
   The peace talks President Jose Manuel Santos has held with the Marxist
   rebels have dominated political life in Colombia since they opened in
   late 2012 in Cuba.
   The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has been at war
   with Colombia for 50 years.
   Sunday's election is expected to consolidate President Santos as the
   front-runner for a second straight term in the presidential election in
   May, allowing him to continue talks with the FARC that could end the
   war and transform Colombia's political makeup.
   However, Santos' predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, who is a fierce critic of
   the president, is seeking a Senate seat from which he aims to challenge
   the course of the talks with the FARC.
   The former president is expected to win the Senate seat and once in
   Congress, he is expected to work to block legislation that could enable
   FARC rebels to enter the political system without serving considerable
   jail time. Uribe's campaign slogan was "No to Impunity."
   Uribe and his backers accuse Santos of offering rebel leaders soft
   sentences, or none at all, to solidify his place in history as the
   leader who brought peace to Colombia. Santos denies FARC will get off
   that easily.
   Colombia and the FARC have been holding Norwegian- and Cuban-sponsored
   peace talks in Havana.
   Both sides have agreed to allow the rebels to take part in national
   politics once the insurgency ends.
   The FARC has been fighting a five-decades-long guerrilla war against
   the Colombian government and partly finances the war through drug
   trafficking and frequent kidnappings of foreigners and Colombian
   officials.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/colombia-votes-on-congress-seen-as-re
   ferendum-on-farc-peace-talks/1867405.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/colombia-votes-on-congress-seen-as-referendum-on-farc-peace-talks/1867405.html