By Hugh Bronstein

BOGOTA, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe signaled he may not run for a third term in 2010, opening a possible battle among politicians to succeed the popular U.S.-backed leader.

Calling on the country to seek other candidates to carry on his fight against left-wing insurgents and efforts to attract investment, Uribe asked Congress to set aside a proposed referendum aimed at allowing him a 2010 campaign.

"I think this would be much better for the future of Colombia than to seek my re-election right now," Uribe told a university audience late on Wednesday in the clearest sign yet that he will not run.

Possible successors -- such as Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and Noemi Sanin, the ambassador to the United Kingdom -- have been waiting for indications of Uribe's plans.

Admired on Wall Street for his market-friendly policies, Uribe left open the possibility of coming back to seek the presidency in 2014, saying the constitution could be easily changed to permit such a run.

The president's popularity hovers at more than 80 percent thanks to his aggressive stance against cocaine-financed rebels who killed his father in a 1983 kidnapping attempt and have been fighting the state since the 1960s.

Uribe was first elected in 2002. The constitution was amended to allow him to be elected to a second term in 2006.

Supporters want another change in law to let the bespectacled former lawyer run for a third consecutive term despite concerns voiced by allies and foes alike that such a move would throw off Colombia's democratic balance of powers.

Congress has been presented with a proposal for a voter referendum that would decide on a constitutional change.

But Uribe urged lawmakers to set that proposal aside in favor of debating political and judicial reform bills meant to strengthen democracy in the scandal-ridden Andean country, where scores of lawmakers are under investigation on charges of using right-wing paramilitaries to intimidate voters.

"I ask Congress to please occupy itself with the judicial and political reform bills and not the re-election referendum," Uribe said.

Colombia, flanked by leftist governments in Venezuela and Ecuador, has received billions of dollars in U.S. aid over the last eight years.

(Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Bill Trott)

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