The coalition in Colombia’s Senate approved the referendum about the
re-election of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Wednesday in its last
vote on the subject. The House and Senate will now negotiate the law
to have it approved finally.
The law would have been approved after this session already, had the
Senate not changed the text of the referendum. If the Representatives
of the House agree with this change, the bill can be taken to
Colombia’s Constitutional Court, that ill see if the referendum is in line with Colombia´s constitution.
If the Constitutional Court does not object the law, the National Registry will pick a date for the referendum to be held. After that it is up to the Colombian people to say if they want to allow Uribe a third term or not.
The opposition boycotted the vote on the referendum, claiming the change of text was illegal, because it had already been sunk in an earlier vote. Opposition parties call on Colombians to also boycott the referendum. For a valid result, the referendum needs to have the votes of 25 percent of the population.
The referendum was called for by supporters of Uribe who want the President to be allowed a third term, which, according to the Colombian constitution is not possible.
