Alvaro Uribe given green light to run for re-election

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

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.

The decision removes the final hurdle for Uribe to put his name on the ballot in next May's presidential vote.

Polls show that Uribe, a staunch Washington ally, would sweep to victory in next May's presidential race vote if permitted to run, thanks to his tough policies against leftist rebels and drug traffickers.

In the three years since he came to power, crime rates have dropped, the economy has been on the upswing and the army has pushed the guerrillas from many of their traditional strongholds, AP reports.

А. А.