(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in Colombia would grant a third term to Álvaro Uribe, according to a poll by CNC published in Semana. 77 per cent of respondents would support a new presidential re-election bid, up 11 points since April.

Pitted against three possible contenders in the 2010 ballot, Uribe would get 72 per cent of the vote, followed by Ingrid Betancourt—a former presidential candidate of dual French and Colombian citizenship—with nine per cent, former Medellin mayor Sergio Fajardo with three per cent, and former Bogotá mayor Antanas Mockus also with three per cent.

Uribe has been Colombia’s president since August 2002. In the May 2006 election, he won a new four-year term with 62.2 per cent of all cast ballots. He was able to run again after pro-Uribe lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Constitutional Court officially sanctioned a plan to allow immediate presidential re-election. After issuing its ruling, the court warned that the clause was not valid for the unlimited re-election of the head of state. Uribe would require a new constitutional amendment to run again.

Uribe has been commended for improving the economy and for his security policies, especially his hard stand against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a radical left-wing armed group. However, his administration is currently under great strain. Seventy lawmakers—the vast majority of whom are Uribe supporters—are being investigated for alleged ties with right-wing, illegal paramilitary armies. The accusations range from receiving the backing of war lords for electoral benefits, to directly participating in select killings and massacres for political or economic purposes. Uribe’s first cousin and close political ally, Mario Uribe, is one of the lawmakers currently under investigation.

On Jul. 2, Betancourt, three American citizens, and 11 Colombian army soldiers who had been kidnapped by the FARC were rescued by the Colombian army. The operation was deemed "unprecedented" in the South American country’s history because it was based on intelligence and infiltration methods, and no weapons were used.

On Jul. 8, Betancourt commented on the possibility of Uribe serving for a third term, saying, "If there is a chance for a third term and Colombians have to decide whether they elect him [Uribe] or not, then nothing is certain. So let’s give the Colombian people the chance to say what they want."

Polling Data

Do you support Álvaro Uribe’s re-election?

If these were the candidates in the next presidential election, who would you vote for?

Source: CNC / Semana
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,151 Colombian adults, conducted in early July 2008. Margin of error is 2.9 per cent.

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