Oct 8, 2007, 9:28 GMT
San Jose, Costa Rica - Costa Ricans voted Sunday in favour of ratifying the United States-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), according to preliminary results released by the country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
With votes in 86 per cent of the 4,932 polling stations counted, the 'yes' vote obtained 51.6 per cent of the ballots to the 'no' vote's 48.4 per cent. About 60 per cent of Costa Ricans entitled to vote cast their ballots.
The government of social-democratic President Oscar Arias and other CAFTA supporters proclaimed their triumph in the referendum, and leaders of the campaign to reject the trade deal as it stands admitted they did not prevail.
'We have taken on the oligarchy, transnational companies and the United States government,' trade union leader Dennis Cabezas noted.
Costa Rica was the only CAFTA signatory that had yet to ratify the treaty and held the first referendum in the country's history to decide the pact's fate.
CAFTA was originally negotiated by the United States with the governments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, which were later joined by the Dominican Republic.
It was passed by both houses of the US Congress and signed by US President George W Bush in 2005. The deal went into effect in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala in 2006 and in the Dominican Republic earlier this year.
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