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Colombians reject anti-terrorism measures
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- In a defeat for Colombia's popular, hardline president, voters appeared to have rejected measures to crack down on corruption and strengthen the fight against left-wing rebels and terrorism, preliminary referendum results showed Sunday.
With about 100,000 votes remaining to be counted, results showed the government failed to obtain enough votes to pass 11 of the 15 points on the referendum.
Among the measures Colombians defeated was one that would reduce the number of seats in Congress and another that would freeze state salaries and pensions.
The four referendum points that still stood a chance of being approved in the late vote-counting included a measure that would prevent convicted criminals from holding or running for public office.
Each point needed to be voted on by at least 25 percent of registered voters. Some voters appeared to have left some sections of the referendum ballot blank, thus annulling the result.
President Alvaro Uribe campaigned tirelessly for the referendum, saying it was vital to defeat terrorism and prevent an Argentina-style economic collapse.
Leftist rebels who opposed the referendum blocked a major highway Saturday, attacked an army base, ambushed police patrols and burned a half-dozen trucks. At least 13 people were killed, the Defense Ministry said. Rebels also destroyed four polling booths.
Nearly 250,000 troops protected polling stations and the nation's streets.
Defense Minister Martha Lucia Ramirez reported that fighters with the main rebel army, the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia, carried out total of 51 separate election-day attacks, but said they had been unable to undermine the electoral process.
Some Colombians complained that the 15 proposals on the referendum were complex and confusing.
Uribe called for freezing public-sector salaries for at least two years and capping state pensions in order to trim budget deficits that have spiraled as Uribe has increased defense spending. The government says the measures will save $7 billion over the next seven years.
Critics, who include members of his own party, accuse the president of grossly exaggerating the referendum's benefits to win votes and say he is using the referendum to consolidate his own power.
Some analysts said if the referendum failed, Uribe will find it harder to push through reforms in Congress.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- In a defeat for Colombia's popular, hardline president, voters appeared to have rejected measures to crack down on corruption and strengthen the fight against left-wing rebels and terrorism, preliminary referendum results showed Sunday.
With about 100,000 votes remaining to be counted, results showed the government failed to obtain enough votes to pass 11 of the 15 points on the referendum.
Among the measures Colombians defeated was one that would reduce the number of seats in Congress and another that would freeze state salaries and pensions.
The four referendum points that still stood a chance of being approved in the late vote-counting included a measure that would prevent convicted criminals from holding or running for public office.
Each point needed to be voted on by at least 25 percent of registered voters. Some voters appeared to have left some sections of the referendum ballot blank, thus annulling the result.
President Alvaro Uribe campaigned tirelessly for the referendum, saying it was vital to defeat terrorism and prevent an Argentina-style economic collapse.
Leftist rebels who opposed the referendum blocked a major highway Saturday, attacked an army base, ambushed police patrols and burned a half-dozen trucks. At least 13 people were killed, the Defense Ministry said. Rebels also destroyed four polling booths.
Nearly 250,000 troops protected polling stations and the nation's streets.
Defense Minister Martha Lucia Ramirez reported that fighters with the main rebel army, the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia, carried out total of 51 separate election-day attacks, but said they had been unable to undermine the electoral process.
Some Colombians complained that the 15 proposals on the referendum were complex and confusing.
Uribe called for freezing public-sector salaries for at least two years and capping state pensions in order to trim budget deficits that have spiraled as Uribe has increased defense spending. The government says the measures will save $7 billion over the next seven years.
Critics, who include members of his own party, accuse the president of grossly exaggerating the referendum's benefits to win votes and say he is using the referendum to consolidate his own power.
Some analysts said if the referendum failed, Uribe will find it harder to push through reforms in Congress.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html