Abstentionism was the clear winner in Colombia's municipal elections yesterday, as fear and apathy overwhelmed the process.
The ruling Liberal Party increased its advantage in local councils, winning 52 per cent of votes in Bogota. Mr Enrique Penalosa, the Liberal candidate for mayor in Bogota, easily beat his conservative rival, Mr Carlos Moreno, winning 58 per cent of votes cast.
The "unity" candidates triumphed in a dozen departments, including Barranquilla, Colombia's third city, where a Salesian priest, Father Bernardo Hoyos, led a "citizens' coalition" to victory in the mayoral race.
While results trickled in slowly from rural areas, a boycott by guerrillas appeared to have worked, as burned-out vehicles, the destruction of polling booths, the replacement of booth clerks by army soldiers and the total suspension of the voting process in 22 municipalities painted a grim picture of democracy in wartime.
In San Francisco, Antioquia province, just 18 voters came out to vote, while the remaining 6,482 stayed at home. In an isolated village in Meta province, three votes were enough to secure the post of mayor. So far, however, only partial results have been documented.
The Mandate for Peace, a special ballot in which citizens marked an X to demand an end of violence and a negotiated solution of the armed conflict attracted almost 10 million votes, by far the most significant result of the elections.
Even the votes cast for the peace initiative remained relatively low, however, as children, police and foreigners boosted the figures by two million, leaving just 35 per cent of eligible voters behind the initiative.
Hours after polling ended, a triumphant President Ernesto Samper spoke live on television, thanking everyone who voted, "particularly the young people who voted like never before".
The high youth turnout was attributed primarily to a series of incentives, notably a 10 per cent reduction on university fees and a two-month reduction in obligatory military service. Workers received a half-day's paid leave if they voted, and were promised preferential access to low-cost housing.
Mr Samper pledged to meet representatives of the religious and non-governmental organisations who introduced the mandate-forpeace initiative and seek ways to implement the proposals through legislation.
Colombia's army chief, Gen Manuel Bonnet, expressed his gratitude to voters, describing the day as "a clear lesson in how democracy should work".
International observers stayed away from areas of guerrilla influence, while concern grew over the fate of two Organisation of American States (OAS) election monitors, seized at a guerrilla roadblock last Thursday.
The Marxist National Liberation Army (ELN) claimed responsibility for the incident and promised to return the Guatemalan and Chilean OAS delegates after the election process concluded.