COLOMBIA: Colombia's two largest and most traditional political parties were trounced in congressional elections at the weekend paving the way for an almost certain victory by hardline candidate, Mr Alvaro Uribe, in presidential elections in May.
Supporters of Mr Antonio Navarro Wolf, an ex-guerrilla from the demobilised left-wing M-19 rebel group who was swept into the senate, also did surprisingly well in the largely peaceful nationwide vote.
Congressional candidates from President Andres Pastrana's Conservative Party were routed, along with those from the Liberal Party, Colombia's largest and best-organised political organisation.
Liberals and Conservative presidents have alternated power in Colombia since the 19th century.
The defeat was so crushing that the Conservative Party's senior leader, Mr Carlos Holguin, resigned late on Sunday.
"It doesn't make sense to continue being the party president," Mr Holguin told Caracol radio network as he announced his resignation.
Sunday's balloting took place 18 days after Mr Pastrana ended a three-year-old peace process with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Latin America's most powerful rebel group.
The FARC had called on Colombians to refrain from balloting, but dire predictions of widespread violence turned out to be baseless.
Colombian voters had to elect 102 senators and 166 representatives, the whole of the nation's congress. When counting halted for the day before midnight on Sunday, and with 94 per cent of the votes counted, the Liberals had 30 seats in the senate - down from 56 - while Mr Pastrana's Conservatives had 13 senate seats, down from 17.
The remaining seats were claimed by independent candidates - some supporting Mr Navarro, others supporting Mr Uribe - and still others personalities with no clear political stance.