The Colombian constitutional court has rejected a referendum which could have led to President Alvaro Uribe running for a third term in office.

哥伦比亚宪法法院否决了一项全民公决提议，该提议可能使总统阿尔瓦罗·乌里韦第三次连任。

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Mr Uribe's second term has been hit by scandals but he remains popular

The court voted 7-2 against a proposal backed by parliament to hold a vote on amending³（修改） the constitution to allow for three terms.

Mr Uribe won an amendment⁴ in 2005 that let him run for a second term in 2006.

Following the ruling, former Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos confirmed he would run for（竞选） the presidency⁵.

Mr Santos, credited with helping⁶ Mr Uribe's government's efforts against left-wing Farc rebels, said: "What we need to do now is work to ensure his [Mr Uribe's] legacy⁷ of security and progress is not lost."

President Uribe remains popular in Colombia, but the constitution bars him from being a candidate again in the 30 May election.

He said he accepted and respected the court's decision, which is not subject to appeal.

'Democratic principle'

Alvaro Uribe is a close ally（同盟，伙伴） of the US, which has poured many millions of dollars into Colombia to support its fight against drug cartels and the Farc（哥伦比亚革命武装力量） insurgency⁸（叛乱，暴动） .

Last year, Colombia's Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly backed the proposed amendment on term limits.

But on Friday, lead justice Mauricio Gonzalez announced that the high court rejected the referendum（公民投票，全民公决） that would have asked voters to amend² the constitution.

In his ruling he said the law calling for such a referendum included "substantial violations⁹ to the democratic principle."

"It is not a matter of mere¹⁰... irregularities（不法行为，谬误） ," he added.

Analysts¹¹ say the court ruling marks the start of a tough election campaign to replace Mr Uribe.

Mr Santos leads in opinion polls, reports say, but Sergio Fajardo, an independent praised for his performance as mayor of Medellin, is making ground（开拓性的） .

Correspondents say that any candidate chosen to replace the president from among his allies would continue his Democratic Security Policy, the foundation of his popularity.

"Those policies have to be re-elected whatever the decision of the court," Mr Uribe said on Thursday evening.

"We cannot change direction, we cannot have a change of guard."

Scandals

Critics have said that allowing Mr Uribe to stand again might threaten democracy.

His second term has been marred¹² by scandals（丑闻） over human rights abuses（虐待，暴行） by troops and the illegal wiretapping（窃听） of his opponents by the state intelligence agency.

On Wednesday, police re-arrested a cousin and close ally of the president, former senator Mario Uribe Escobar, as part of an ongoing¹³ investigation¹⁴ into alleged¹⁵ links between politicians and right-wing paramilitary groups.

More than 60 politicians are still in jail in connection with（有关，相连） the case known as the "para-political" scandal.