Colombian leader awaits ruling on re-election bid

Court to decide soon whether Uribe can run for second term

Friday, October 7, 2005; Posted: 1:56 p.m. EDT (17:56 GMT)

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe

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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A nation wonders: Will he or won't he?

The future of Colombia hangs in the balance as its highest court decides whether President Alvaro Uribe, who has brought security to many corners of a country afflicted by a 41-year-old civil war and drug trafficking, can run for re-election in May.

Congress has struck down a law that bars presidents from second terms, but the Constitutional Court must approve the measure before Uribe's name can appear on the ballot.

With a ruling expected any day, nerves are fraying.

At one point, court president Manuel Jose Cepeda rebuked Uribe after a Cabinet minister said outlawed armed groups were pressuring the judges. Colombia's stock market is falling as jittery investors await a ruling.

The nine magistrates have been meeting 12 hours a day, three days a week since September 20 in a squat brown building housing the court off the main plaza in gritty downtown Bogota. The judges must make a ruling by November 15. Court spokeswoman Luz Elena Botero said a decision could come at any moment.

"They are meeting in the plenary hall from 9 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. on this subject, sending out for coffee and tea, and only taking a break for lunch," Botero told The Associated Press.

Only the official court stenographer is allowed in the cement-walled, wood-floored room. Security guards stand outside.

The court is deliberating whether Congress has the authority to allow second-term presidents and, if so, whether it followed procedures correctly when it approved the bill in November.

Created under Colombia's 1991 Constitution, the court is not hesitant to buck Uribe. In 2003, it struck down four questions on a 19-point nationwide referendum on austerity proposed by Uribe.

The longer the court deliberates, the higher the tension thermometer climbs.

"I thought that the court would approve this with no problem, but I see such nervousness among government officials that now I am not so sure," said Sen. Carlos Gaviria, a former Constitutional Court president.

If the court rejects re-election, Colombia's political landscape will be plunged into disarray. Uribe has not named a hand-picked candidate to run in his place in case of a "no" vote. Possible choices include Sen. German Vargas and former Bogota Mayors Enrique Penalosa and Antanas Mockus.

With a 70 percent popularity rating, Uribe would be the clear favorite to win the election if he is allowed to run.

Uribe says he needs more than four years to end a four-decade-old rebel conflict that has killed at least 35,000 people. He is President Bush's firmest ally in Latin America, and the United States has poured in $4 billion since 2000 to help Colombia battle rebels and drug traffickers.

But many Colombians are skeptical that the court will allow two-term presidents.

In July, Inspector General Edgardo Maya advised the magistrates to strike down the re-election measure, saying Congress made procedural errors.

Later, Uribe's right-hand man did not help things.

Interior and Justice Minister Sabas Pretelt said in a newspaper interview that rebels and drug traffickers were pressuring the court to reject the re-election bid. Cepeda responded in a huff, telling Uribe in a letter that if the government knows about such pressures, it should inform the court through official channels.

Cepeda also pointedly said he expects "all authorities and private citizens to abide by the rulings of the court, regardless of the subject."

In a letter marked by uncharacteristic humility, Uribe assured Cepeda he would respect the court's ruling and said he wanted an "atmosphere of tranquility to surround the honorable Constitutional Court, so in its wisdom it can make its pertinent decisions."

Poncho Renteria, a columnist for Colombia's leading newspaper El Tiempo, which is generally pro-Uribe, called Cepeda's letter "arrogant."

He predicted the court would reject Uribe's bid to stand for a second term, which begins next August.

"The nine emperors -- pardon me, the nine illustrious magistrates -- will send him into retirement," Renteria said in his column Wednesday. "Have no doubt ... next August there will be a president who will not be Alvaro Uribe."