Bolivian President Evo Morales on Sunday said he would run for re-election in defiance of a term limit set by the country's constitution, according to dpa. "I am forced to bow down to you in order to continue working for our beloved Bolivia," Morales said at a nominating conference organized by his leftist Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party. The party decided on Saturday to make Morales their candidate in 2019. Morales has been in office since 2006 and has just become the longest-serving Bolivian head of state since independence in 1825. If re-elected he would be in power until 2025 for a total of 19 years. His current term lasts until January 2020. Bolivians in February rejected a reform of the constitution that would have cleared the way for the country's first indigenous president to seek a fourth term. The 57-year-old accepted the result then, but now says that if Bolivians want him to stay in office, he must continue service. The Bolivian constitution allows a president two consecutive terms. Although the next election would give Morales his fourth, his first term isn't counted because the country changed its constitution in 2009 before he served all five years. Critics have accused the former coca farmer of showing authoritarian tendancies, but he is able to point to economic growth of 5 per cent on average annually and a marked decline in poverty in the South American country. The MAS party is now considering four ways to make it possible for Morales to legally seek a fourth term. In addition to another referendum, the option of Morales resigning a half year before the election is being weighed. This would justify Morales' candidacy for a fourth term.
