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The Bolivian parliament approved Saturday morning a bill allowing President Evo Morales to run for another term in office as part of a partial amendment to the constitution that would eliminate term limits.
The new bill was approved after an 18-hour session. A majority voted for it, allowing the president to seek another term in office in the 2020 presidential elections. The constitution currently allows for only two consecutive terms.
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#Ahora: Termina votación nominal en detalle de la disposición final única. 153 votos en total emitidos. 112 SÍ y 41 NO.
— Senado Bolivia (@SenadoBolivia)
September 26, 2015
Following today's decision by the country's parliament, Morales said he would only serve until 2025 in order to complete the national agenda he started since his election in 2005.
"The rightwing should not be afraid of the re-election reform, because the proposal will be decided on through a referendum," Morales told reporters in New York where he is attending the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit.
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The amendment approved by the nation's legislative body will now go to a national referendum next February. Morales's ruling party, which have a two-thirds majority in the parliament, won the last elections by more than 60 percent of the vote.
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Morales, is one of the most popular presidents in the world, currently polling a 75 percent approval rate. He was first elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009. The Bolivian leader was granted permission to run again in 2014 on the grounds that he had only served one term under the new constitution.
Under Bolivian law, the constitution can be altered through a nation-wide referendum called by 20 percent of the electorate or vote by the parliament, then followed by a nation-wide referendum.
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