Colombia approves vote on Uribe third term

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has cleared another hurdle to running for a third consecutive term after lawmakers approved a bill that would allow him to stand for re-election in May.

The move, which came just minutes before midnight (0500 GMT Wednesday), must still be endorsed by the Constitutional Court before a national referendum can be held.

The House of Representatives gave its nod in an 85-5 vote after a grueling debate that lasted more than 12 hours.

The conservative Uribe, first elected in 2002, was easily re-elected in 2006 after the Congress amended the constitution so that he could run for a second term in a move that remains under a judicial investigation after a lawmaker said he was bribed for his vote.

The House vote was the last legislative procedure required in order to amend the constitution so that the 57-year-old president, a close US ally, may present himself as a candidate in the May presidential elections.

Uribe's political opposition and some of his supporters, the majority in Colombia's legislature, have openly opposed reforming the constitution, a move that is part of a growing trend among Latin America leaders to use referendums to try to prolong their time in power.

The vote came after the two main opposition parties -- the centrist Liberal Party and the leftist Democratic Party -- charged that Uribe was engaging in illegal conduct to remain in power.

The plan to call the referendum, slated for a vote later this year, has been punctuated with reports of irregularities since it was launched in mid-2008 by the Party of the U (National Unity Social Party), one of six parties that make up the ruling coalition.

The president, who enjoys 68 percent approval ratings has not clearly indicated whether he would make a 2010 run to stay in power but has repeatedly expressed his intent to ensure his policies would be continued.

Polls show he would have a large lead over potential rivals should he decide to launch a re-election bid.

A successful campaign for the presidency would see Uribe become the first Colombian president in history to govern for three consecutive terms since Rafael Nunez in the late 19th century.

But he must still first clear two hurdles before launching his campaign: the referendum must pass review by the Constitutional Court and earn enough votes from the electorate.

Uribe remains popular thanks to his US-backed campaign against the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerillas and for achieving one of the country's best economic performances in 30 years, with GDP growth of 7.52 percent in 2007.

The FARC, Latin America's oldest and largest insurgency, has been battling the Colombian government for four decades.

The opposition says Uribe's military success has come at the cost of a rise in human rights violations and that his economic strategy only benefits big business.

But he remains popular despite scandals involving extrajudicial killings by the army and the wire-tapping of rivals.

A Gallup survey conducted in July found that 76 percent of those Colombians willing to vote in the referendum were in favor of the proposal.