The Colombian government says that Sunday’s presidential election was the calmest in 40 years. Two soldiers were killed, as guerrillas attempted to disrupt the vote, and the army reported the arrest of 86 rebels.
No incidents were reported in the major cities, but according to the army one soldier was killed in combat in the central Meta department and one in the northern La Guajira department.
Most violence took place in the south-west of Colombia where fighting between rebels and army took place all weekend.
In the north of the Cauca department, people were unable to go to polling stations because of guerrilla attacks.
According to the national police, FARC car bombs were discovered and deactivated in the departments of Caqueta, Antioquia, Arauca and Valle del Cauca.
Interior and Justice Minister Fabio Valencia Cossio praised the security forces’ ability to maintain relative peace during the elections. According to Valencia, violence was down by 78% compared to the 2002 elections. “The control over public order is an absolute success. Acts of violence related to the electoral process were diminished by 78%, which means it was the calmest day of all election days in the past 40 years.”
Authorities say they were able to arrest 86 guerrillas on election day alone.
