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BOGOTA, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- On Sunday morning, 81,925 voting booths were made available in Colombia and around the world for up to 34,899,945 Colombians, registered to vote, can participate in the historic plebiscite and accept or reject the peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC.
Polling stations opened up at 8 a.m. local time across the country, although certain parts of the country faced heavy rains brought by hurricane Matthew, forcing certain stations to have their locations changed.
The first person to vote, at the polling station located in Bogota's historic Plaza de Bolivar, was registrar Juan Carlos Galindo, followed by the mayor of Bogota, Enrique Peñalosa.
President Juan Manuel Santos voted at this same station at 8:13am and, addressing the press, asked Colombians to turn out and vote.
"I have just cast my vote in this historic plebiscite, which I hope will change the history of this country for the better," he said.
(Voting) means "ending a war of 52 years, opening the path of peace, and peace will bring us a better future," added Santos.
He expressed the hope that the rain would not stop Colombians from voting and that "all should exercise their right" so that Colombians play a part in this historic change for the country.
In the country's Caribbean region, the lashing rains appeared to have driven down turnout as few voters appeared at polling stations, while the beginning of voting was delayed in parts of the department of Choco due to the weather.
The government has intensified its Yes campaign in recent days, accompanied by allies in civil society. For the vote to count, at least 13 percent of the electorate must participate.
While recent polls have shown a clear majority for the Yes side, former president Alvaro Uribe remains opposed to the deal. After voting in Bogota, he told the press that "peace is exciting but the Havana accords are disappointing."
He also accused the government of stopping the No campaign from advertising and of coercing mayors and governors to support the Yes vote.
In order to avoid any unrest, the government has banned any sale of alcohol from the evening of Oct. 1 until the morning of Oct. 3, all weapons carrying permits are suspended until Oct. 5, except for police and the army, while local authorities have the right to suspend any vehicular traffic they deem convenient.
