Relative calm, a few incidents of mischief and a strong turnout marked Costa Rica's first ever national referendum yesterday as Ticos around the country came out to vote “yes” or “no” on the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).
No major incidents of violence were reported, but in the eastern suburb of San Pedro a group of opponents of the trade pact began ambushing cars bearing “yes” stickers and flags to rip them off. Behind the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) building, another group of young CAFTA opponents burned a “yes” banner before National Police came and broke them up.
At polling places, opponents and supporters of this controversial trade pact rallied side by side, both waving flags, wearing T-shirts and stickers and eager to talk to anyone who came to question them about their views.
The country took on a festive air as both sides made final pushes to win over undecided voters, with cars honking horns and waving banners reading “Yes” and “No” rolling down the streets.
Long lines outside polling places were evidence of a good turnout. Preliminary vote counts showed that about 60% of eligible voters came out yesterday, exceeding the necessary 40% for the vote to be binding.
“I feel very happy to have voted,” said Adrián Pacheco as he walked out of Buenaventura Corrales School with his wife and two children. “It's a very important exercise of the freedom and the liberty we have.”
In shorts and sandals, convicted drug trafficker Francisco Angulo filled out his vote and slipped it into the ballot box in San Sebastián prison in southern San José.
He's one of 5,578 convicts in Costa Rican jails - about two-thirds of inmates nationwide - who were eligible to vote in the referendum, according to Justice Ministry spokesperson Emilia Segura.
On the Quitirrisí indigenous reserve, southwest of San José, voters had to walk up a dirt and clay road made slippery by the drizzle and fog shrouding the mountain. The mood was calm, with a steady stream of voters joking and greeting each other as they walked into the classroom to vote |
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