Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says a ceasefire with the Marxist FARC rebels will remain in place, after voters shockingly rejected a peace deal to end five decades of civil war in a nationwide referendum.

Prior to Sunday's balloting, opinion polls indicated that the peace deal announced just last week enjoyed as much as a two-to-one majority for approval.  But on Sunday night, the government announced 50.2 percent of Colombians rejected the peace deal while 49.8 percent voted in favor of it.

President Santos said the ceasefire remains in force, and that he would soon "convene all political groups", especially those against the deal, in order "to open spaces for dialogue and determine how we will go ahead".  He's been left in an uncomfortable position, having previously been so confident in the referendum's approval that he said he had no back-up plan.  "I will not give up," Mr. Santos said in a televised address,  "I will continue seeking peace until the a last day of my presidency."

FARC leader Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez (known as his birth name Rodrigo Londono in the corporate media) likewise isn't quitting the peace process:  "The FARC reiterates its disposition to use only words as a weapon to build toward the future," he said in a statement from Havana, Cuba where the peace talks have taken place over the past four years. 

"To the Colombian people who dream of peace, count on us, peace will triumph," Timochenko continued.  "With today's result, we know that our challenge as a political party is even greater and requires more effort to build a stable and lasting peace."

The deal would have allowed rebel leaders to avoid jail if they confessed to crimes such as killing, kidnapping, indiscriminate attacks, and child recruitment.  It may be that the terms are too lenient for Colombians outside the capital, especially most rural areas that were most impacted during 52 years of fighting. 

But without the approval of the Colombian voters, around 10,000 FARC members will not be handing their weapons over the United Nations inspectors and talking their place as a legitimate political party.  How or when that will happen is once again up in the air.