Critics of peace deal with rebels gain seats in elections

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian voters turned to rightwing parties critical of the country’s peace deal with the main leftist rebels and knocked the current president’s party down in congressional elections, raising questions about the future of the accord.

Sunday’s vote was seen as a barometer for a fiercely contested presidential election in May.

It was also the first time former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, competed politically since disarming under the 2016 peace deal to end a half century of conflict. As expected, support for their radical agenda was soundly rejected, with FARC candidates getting less than 0.5 percent of the vote. That means their political party will get only the 10 seats guaranteed them by the peace accord.

“The FARC are in a tough spot,” said Leon Valencia, a former combatant who now runs the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, a think tank. “A long war has generated lots of fear and rancor towards them.”

By contrast, many of the accord’s critics picked up seats, with the Democratic Center party led by former President Alvaro Uribe headed to being the biggest bloc in the Senate.

Uribe’s handpicked presidential candidate, Sen. Ivan Duque, easily swept an open primary among three conservative candidates.

President Juan Manuel Santos’ coalition, which supported the peace deal, struggled. His own Party of National Unity, which was the biggest political movement in the outgoing congress, finished fifth overall.

The results are likely to lead to a last-minute scramble among presidential candidates to form coalitions to better position themselves ahead of what is seen as a wide-open presidential race.

Two candidates under pressure to join forces are Humberto de la Calle, who was the government’s chief peace negotiator, and former Gov. Sergio Fajardo. Both candidates have vowed to implement the peace deal.

Duque has said he would not “thrash” the peace accord with the FARC, but he would attempt to modify certain aspects, like a provision that allows the former rebels with drug-trafficking convictions to participate in politics.