Colombia’s National Registrar Carlos Ariel Sanchez confirmed Thursday that all aspirants to the presidency must register their candidacy by March 12, meaning that Urbistas only have two weeks to select and register their presidential candidate.
“The date is March 12… This is the date for all eligible candiates,” Sanchez replied in answer to the question if this date applies to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
There had been speculation that the Urbista faction might be granted more time to register, due to the fact that the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on the referendum regarding Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s potential re-election.
News website La Silla Vacia predicted earlier today that the referendum will not pass.
Uribe on Wednesday rejected criticisms that serving a third term as president would undermine democratic institutions in Colombia.
Juan Manuel Santos, head of the Partido de la U and former defense minister last week expressed his doubts that the referendum would pass, citing magistrate Humberto Sierra’s strong opposition to the bill.
Santos is expected to run for the presidency if the Constitutional Court rules that Uribe is ineligible.
Uribe wants to run for a third term in office, which is prohibited by the constitution. The Constitutional Court is studying a referendum bill proposing Uribe’s re-election, to determine whether it is constitutional. If the bill is approved, the referendum will then have to be held before the presidential elections in May.