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Uribe cleared by Colombian court to run for re-election

Colombia's highest court approved an election law on Friday that clears the way for popular President Alvaro Uribe to run for a second term next year.

Polls show that Uribe, a close US ally, would sweep to victory in next May's presidential race thanks to his tough policies against leftist rebels and drug traffickers.

The Constitutional Court ruled that the Electoral Guarantees Law, which was passed by Congress last year to set out the rules for sitting presidents to compete in elections, was constitutional, court president Jose Manuel Cepeda told reporters on Friday.

The decision removes the final hurdle for Uribe to put his name on the ballot.

"We are obviously very pleased," Interior and Justice Minister Sabas Pretelt said.

This South American country has not seen a president elected to two consecutive terms since the 1800s. Critics of the measure say re-election has a poor track record in the region, with second-term leaders often veering toward authoritarianism.

But Uribe is hugely popular among Colombians and his supporters pushed legislation through Congress last year that lifts a long-standing ban on presidential re-election. That measure was approved by the Constitutional Court last month.

If the court had rejected the Electoral Guarantees Law, intended to ensure that incumbents don't abuse their power for electoral gain, Uribe might not have been been able to run in the next election as Congress wouldn't have had time to make any changes demanded by the court.

The court, however, set limits on Uribe's ability to use state funds and institutions to promote his re-election. It barred him from using the presidential palace as his campaign headquarters or have his speeches broadcast on the state's official television channel.

"The president has made clear that he will abide by all the court's requirements," Pretelt said.

Opposition leaders praised the court's decision to impose restrictions.
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