06:40

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”.

Critics of Santos had derided the president for allegedly being motivated by winning the Nobel prize in his search for peace in Colombia. Last night someone who voted no in the plebiscite told me she was happy because the result of the vote meant Santos wouldn’t get the prize.

Carlos Holmes Trujillo, a member of the opposition Democratic Centre party and the committee designated to search for a way out of the crisis, told local radio that the prize is “a well-deserved recognition by the international community of the efforts he has been making for peace”.

The former president Álvaro Uribe, who campaigned vehemently against the peace deal with the Farc and has been a constant critic of Santos, has been tweeting since 5am (11am UK time) but has made no mention of the peace prize for his arch-rival. Also no reaction yet from Farc leadership who are in Havana.

César Rodriguez Garavito, the director of Dejusticia, a Colombian thinktank, says the Nobel prize will boost efforts to reach a new peace deal. Those who led the campaign for rejecting the peace accord in last week’s referendum are in talks with the government to make changes to the agreement that will make it more palatable to the half of Colombian voters who rejected it.

“It doesn’t change the results of the plebiscite, but it reminds the parties that what is at stake is the end of the war, not political calculations,” said Garavito. “It’s a recognition of the titanic efforts to reach peace.”