Award comes despite peace deal being voted down in a referendum
Nobel committee says prize not disrespectful to Colombian voters
3.08pm BST
Well, that it’s for our live coverage of the Nobel peace prize. To recap, the award was given to the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, for his efforts to negotiate peace in his country with the Farc guerrillas. It was a surprise win, given the peace deal he struck with Farc leader Timochenko was rejected by the Colombian people in a referendum less than a week ago. Santos said he was deeply honoured by the prize and accepted the prize on behalf of the Colombian people and in particular of the victims of the decades-long conflict.
For more on Santos’ peace prize victory and any breaking developments, read our story here:
Related: Juan Manuel Santos wins Nobel peace prize despite rejection of Farc peace deal
1.48pm BST
Reaction in Colombia so far has been largely positive, with many seeing the prize as a sign of support for the country and faith in the peace process.
The former president Álvaro Uribe, who campaigned vehemently against the peace deal with the Farc and has been a constant critic of Santos, has congratulated the president but indicated he will still insist on changes to the deal with the Farc.
Esperamos que el Nobel de paz le de al Presidente Santos fuerza para darle vida al Acuerdo Final y dignidad a todos los colombianos
Felicito al presidente Juan Manuel Santos, a garantes Cuba y Noruega, acompañantes Venezuela y Chile sin los cuales seria imposible la Paz
The peace Nobel for @JuanManSantos is an amazing sign of support.
Peace is not dead. We must keep working.
The Nobel Committee's decision is more important now than it would've been had "Yes" won the plebiscite—https://t.co/G6xYIqdFb5
#Nobel prize comes as #Colombia edged to chaos. Thursday, army told troops to be on "maximum readiness for combat" https://t.co/ejDSNp5ZNo
1.35pm BST
Sibylla Brodzinsky is in Bogotá where President Juan Manuel Santos, the newest Nobel peace prize laureate, has just addressed the nation from the presidential palace, with his wife by his side. She reports that he spoke of his gratitude at winning and his hopes for peace in Colombia. Here’s the text of his speech:
Early this morning my son Martin woke me with the news to tell me about the decision of the Norwegian committee to grant me the Nobel peace prize.
I am infinitely grateful for this honourable distinction with all my heart. I accept it not on my behalf but on behalf of all Colombians, especially the millions of victims of this conflict which we have suffered for more than 50 years.
1.15pm BST
The Nobel prize committee have released audio of their phone call congratulating President Santos on being awarded the Nobel peace prize.
Listen to the full audio here:
12.10pm BST
Rodrigo Londoño, leader of the Farc rebels, and the main negotiating partner with Santos for the peace accord in Colombia, has responded to the Nobel peace prize announcement on Twitter, where he goes by the name Timoleón Jiménez, saying:
El único premio al que aspiramos es de la #PazConJusticiaSocial para #Colombia sin pamilitarismo, sin retaliaciones ni mentiras #PazALaCalle
11.40am BST
Colombia is just waking up to the news of the Nobel peace prize for President Juan Manuel Santos. It comes as a surprise for many Colombians who believed his chances had been scuttled by the rejection of the peace deal his government had hammered out with Farc rebels after four years of talks in a referendum on 2 October.
According to Kristian Herbolzheimer, of peace consultancy Conciliation Resources, given the “toxic dynamic” of local politics after the referendum, the prize’s consequences domestically are “unpredictable”.
11.24am BST
Sibylla Brodzinsky in Bogotá reports that Santos has spoken to the Nobel committee by phone and will address the media at 7am local time (1pm UK time). We’ll cover that speech when it happens.
11.16am BST
Is this year’s award yet another example of the prize being used as a tool to encourage people to finish the job as it has been many times over the years, including 1993, 2007, 2009 and 2015?
The Nobel committee has a long track record of rewarding people when the job is half done, to encourage them to finish. From nuclear inspectors in 2005 and the UN climate panel to the Tunisians last year, the tactic often seems to be to use recognition to reanimate flagging processes. In the case of Barack Obama (2009) the prize was awarded on the basis of little more than a few fine speeches, before he’d really even got started. In his case, it’s arguable that it made little difference.
11.04am BST
Kaci Kullmann Five, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, on its reasons for choosing Santos as the winner of this year’s peace prize:
The award should also be seen as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to this peace process. This tribute is paid not least to the representatives of the countless victims of the civil war.
President Santos initiated the negotiations that culminated in the peace accord between the Colombian government and the Farc guerrillas, and he has consistently sought to move the peace process forward, well knowing that the accord was controversial. He was instrumental in ensuring that Colombian voters were able to voice their opinion concerning the accord in a referendum. The outcome of the vote was not what President Santos wanted. A narrow majority of the over 13 million Colombians who cast their ballots said no to the accord.
10.52am BST
There is a fair amount of consternation from some quarters that Santos won despite the fact the peace deal he negotiated was rejected by the Colombian people (albeit by an extremely narrow margin) in a referendum. Some of you have expressed surprise at this in the comments below, with ClubberLang suggesting that if losing a referendum is grounds to win a Nobel prize, David Cameron better get his acceptance speech ready.
Santos? For holding a referendum that went against him? Cameron did that. According to Dave, the only reason we're not bombing Benidorm was because of the EU. The man's a hero. History will look back kindly on that man.
Related: Colombia’s Brexit moment as politicians misjudge popular anger at Farc amnesty
10.44am BST
Apparently Santos still hasn’t heard the news of his win. The Norwegian television station NRK TV has tried to get in touch with him, but he is sleeping and his staff refuse to wake him up.
Fair enough, it is 4.45am in Colombia right now.
Ha! NRK TV has tried to contact #NobelPeacePrize laureate President Santos, but his night guard refuses to wake him up...
10.28am BST
In case you missed the announcement, here’s Kaci Kullmann Five, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee announcing Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, as the surprise winner of the 2016 peace prize.
Santos, and the leader of the Farc rebel group, Rodrigo Londoño, known as Timochenko, were considered leading contenders for the award after signing a peace deal last month to end 52 years of war. However, it was believed their chances had been scuppered on Sunday when a referendum saw Colombians narrowly reject the peace deal by 50.2% to 49.8%.
10.20am BST
A tweet reveals the reaction at the headquarters of the Syrian White Helmets, considered a favourite to win the prize:
Quiet disappointment at #WhiteHelmets HQ. They're a brilliant, inspiring group, saving lives on daily basis. #Nobel pic.twitter.com/LsktcbMg0Y
Congrats for the Syrian @SyriaCivilDef heroes for winning our hearts and losing a stone prize. You are our #NobelPeacePrize heroes
Way to wake up this morning...bless them #WhiteHelmets #NobelPeacePrize pic.twitter.com/rYjJ0Oj9zP
Congratulations to the people and President of Columbia. We sincerely wish them peace. @NobelPrize
10.16am BST
Reporters at the press conference in Oslo are clearly surprised by the announcement of Santos as peace prize winner. They are also wanting to know more about how the decision was reached.
One reporter asks if Santos has been notified of the award, and “if he will be as surprised by it as we are”.
10.11am BST
Kaci Kullmann Five, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, is asked why the award was not split between the parties involved in the peace negotiations – including the Farc leader, Timochenko. She says Santos’s role as president, as “keeper of the process”, was very important and that while other attempts have been made to achieve peace in the country in the past, Santos went “all in”.
When pressed about whether it was also to do with the fact that it is difficult to award a peace prize to a guerrilla leader, Kullmann Five replied: “We never comment on those who do not receive the award.”
10.08am BST
The Nobel committee spokeswoman, Kaci Kullmann Five, applauded Santos for saying he would fight for peace until his last day in office.
“The committee hopes that the peace prize will give him strength to succeed in this demanding task. Further, it is the committee’s hope that in the years to come, the Colombian people will reap the fruits of the reconciliation process.”
10.04am BST
Kaci Kullmann Five, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, says it is the belief of the committee the result of the referendum, which was to reject the peace accord negotiated by Santos and the leader of the Farc rebels, Timochenko, could lead to a flare-up of conflict and civil war in the country and the committee strongly encourages Santos and Timochenko to respect the accord and “take their share of responsibility and participate constructively in the upcoming peace talks”.
Kullmann Five says the referendum result was not the Colombian people rejecting peace, but rejecting the specific details of the peace deal put forward last week.
10.02am BST
The Norwegian committee has decided to award the 2016 peace prize to the Colombian president for his work to bring peace to his country, despite the fact that the peace deal was voted down in a referendum less than a week ago.
9.58am BST
With only five minutes until the announcement is expected, we should lay our cards on the table. Earlier this week, the Guardian published an editorial saying the prize should go to the White Helmets, the Syrian volunteers who have rescued more than 60,000 people from the rubble of buildings hit in the bombing campaigns. Read the editorial here:
Related: The Guardian view on the Nobel peace prize: give it to Syria’s White Helmets | Editorial
9.55am BST
More on the demographics of Nobel peace prize winners:
9.52am BST
Helena Smith, our correspondent in Greece, has spoken to the mayor of Lesbos, one of the Greek islands that has seen a huge number of refugees arrive in the last 18 months. The mayor says that if the Greek islanders win the prize – and they are tipped as favourites by a few people – for their work welcoming refugees, no celebrations are planned and they will keep everything low-key.
9.49am BST
Before the announcement of the peace prize last year, the Guardian did an analysis of all the winners since its inception in 1901. We found the following;
9.47am BST
The press conference has started. We’re expecting to hear an announcement of the winner in about 15 minutes.
9.41am BST
To be nominated isn’t actually that hard. You just need to get someone to submit your name and a blurb explaining why you should win to the Norwegian Nobel committee.
The catch is that not just anyone can nominate you, they need to be:
9.32am BST
Trying to predict the winner of a Nobel peace prize is notoriously difficult. Names of nominees – and this year there are 376 candidates, a record high – aren’t released by the Nobel committee until 50 years after the award, though those who do the nominating can publish the name of their nominee.
Bookies’ favourites to win this year include the White Helmets, the Syrian civil defence volunteers, the Greek islanders, Pope Francis and Angela Merkel. The Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, and the leader of the Farc rebel group, Rodrigo Londoño, also know as Timochenko, were considered leading contenders for the award until the peace deal they signed was rejected by the Colombian people in a referendum on Sunday.
Read the predictions of Guardian writers here.
9.06am BST
It’s the day of the big one - the Nobel peace prize will be announced this morning at about 10am UK time. Follow here for predictions, updates and reactions. The peace prize is often a controversial and surprising one, so join us as we follow the action.
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