The Movement towards Socialism (MAS) will stop governing Bolivia after almost 20 years, since in the general elections this Sunday the opposition candidates for the Presidency, Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira and the former president Jorge ‘Tuto’ Quirogathey will compete in the first second round in the country’s history.
Paz Pereira, of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), came in first place in the elections by obtaining 32.14% of valid votes, according to the Preliminary Electoral Results System (Sirepre) of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) and after computing 95.41% of the minutes.
While Quiroga (2001-2002) of the Libre alliance reached 26.81% of the votes, according to these data, which are preliminary and “do not replace” the results of the official count, according to the TSE.
According to the Bolivian electoral law, as none reached more than 50% of the votesnor at a minimum of 40% with a difference of 10 points with the second candidate, they will have to compete in a second round that will take place on October 19.
The ruling MAS had the former Minister of Government (Interior) Eduardo del Castillo as its candidate, after President Luis Arce gave up seeking re-election in the midst of an economic crisis affecting Bolivia.
Del Castillo has 3.16% of votes, a percentage that if it does not change in the final official results would be enough to save the legal personality of the MAS, since according to the electoral law if a party does not exceed 3% it must disappear.
For this day more than 7.5 million Bolivians were registered to elect the president, vice president and legislators for the next five years.
The day was described as “calm” by the electoral observation missions of the European Union and the Organization of American States (OAS), the largest that were deployed to accompany this process.
However, the candidate Andrónico Rodríguez, of the Popular alliance, was attacked by several people who threw stones at him after casting their vote in the town of Entre Ríos in the Tropics of Cochabamba, the political and union stronghold of former President Evo Morales (2006-2019).
The also president of the Senate was described as a “traitor” by Morales for having sought the Presidency of Bolivia on his own, distancing himself from the former president who was considered his political mentor because both are union leaders of coca growers in the Tropics of Cochabamba.
For his part, President Arce said tonight that he fulfilled his duty by “guaranteeing a peaceful and transparent electoral process” and assured that he will make a “democratic transition” by handing over the Presidency on November 8.
Opposition businessman Samuel Doria Medina, who was a favorite in the pre-election polls, accepted his defeat by coming third with 19.86% of the vote and indicated that he would support Paz Pereira in the second round.
While Morales, who could not participate as a presidential candidate due to a constitutional disqualification and for not finding a party that supports him after resigning from the MAS, led a campaign in recent weeks to vote null.
He also accused the Arce Government of planning a “fraud” for these elections and said that he will meet with his followers on Wednesday to analyze the electoral results.
With the conclusion of election day, Bolivian politics and the State will take an abrupt turn with the arrival of Quiroga, representative of the right, or Paz Pereira, of the center, to the Executive.
Likewise, the official results of the vote are awaited to have an overview of the new distribution of the Legislature, where the MAS was also the majority for almost two decades.
Biographies
Paz Pereira was born in Santiago de Compostela in 1967 and lived his childhood in several countries because his parents were persecuted during military governments.
For its part, Quiroga was vice president of Bolivia between 1997 and 2001the year in which he assumed the Presidency by constitutional succession after the resignation of the then president Hugo Banzer, who left office for health reasons.
To win in the first round, a candidate must obtain more than 50% of the votes, or a minimum of 40% with at least ten points ahead of the next candidate, according to the Electoral Regime law.
More than 7.5 million Bolivians were eligible to vote on this day and elect the president, vice president and legislators for the next five years.
The study results are not official and the first official reports from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) are awaited.