Uribe drops plan to redo election

President Alvaro Uribe has scrapped his plan to rerun the 2006 election in which he was reelected, the government said, a move that could set the stage for him to seek a third term in 2010.

Uribe said last month that he would try to repeat the vote after the Supreme Court ruled that the constitutional amendment that allowed him to run for and win a second term was tainted by corruption.

He has now dropped that plan.

Uribe’s popularity shot up to 91% after this month’s dramatic rescue of 15 rebel-held hostages, including French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.