Bolivian constitutional court approves law reform for Morales' reelection

Bolivia's long-serving President Evo Morales is expected to run for a fourth consecutive term as the country's constitutional court on Thursday upheld a proposal to amend the constitution to eliminate presidential term limits.

Morales, 55, has been serving as Bolivian president since 2006 and his current term ends in 2020.

According to the proposal, a referendum will be held on Feb. 21, 2016 to allow Bolivians to decide whether Morales should be allowed to run for another five-year term that could take his presidency into 2025.

"The people must approve, or not, the amendment to article 168," said court spokesman Judge Ruddy Flores, adding that the court's seven magistrates were unanimous in voting to validate the measure.

The opposition Democratic Unity Party deputy Luis Felipe Dorado slammed the decision as "biased."

"Given a co-opted, biased (system of) justice, we didn't expect proper procedure to be followed," said Dorado, adding that the opposition will take its fight to international courts if necessary.

The current constitution, adopted in 2009, bars more than two consecutive terms.

Critics accuse Morales, who has been elected three times, of already defying that ban. However, Morales was able to run in 2014 thanks to a court decision that concluded his first term did not count as it preceded the adoption of the constitution.

Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, has won every presidential race in the past 10 years with more than 50 percent of the vote.

Morales has put in place policies that have boosted the gross domestic product from 9 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 to 33 billion dollars in 2014, and cut the poverty rate from 38 percent to 17 percent, according to the Bolivian News Agency. Endi