Bolivia heads to polls as 20 years of leftist rule expected to end
Ballot stations opened on Sunday at 8am (12:00 GMT) and were to close at 4pm (20:00 GMT), with initial results expected after 9pm (01:00 GMT on Monday).
The election is also the first time in almost two decades that polling indicates Bolivia's incumbent Movement for Socialism, or MAS, could face defeat. MAS-affiliated and other left-leaning candidates trail the right-wing opposition by about 10 percent, according to the latest August Ipsos MORI survey.
Eight presidential candidates are in the running – from the far-right to the political left. But two candidates appear to have a comfortable lead: Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, who served as interim president and vice president under former military ruler Hugo Banzer, and Samuel Doria Mediana, a wealthy businessman and former planning minister.
Medina, 66, and Quiroga, 65, are neck-and-neck, according to the polling survey.
Former leftist President Evo Morales has been barred from running, and the outgoing socialist President Luis Arce, who had fallen out with Morales, opted out of the race.
Eduardo del Castillo, who is backed by outgoing President Arce, is the official MAS party candidate. Andronico Rodriguez, who has distanced himself from the MAS party, is running as an independent.
Morales, Bolivia's undisputed left-wing leader for the last 15 years, is holed up in his tropical stronghold, where he still leads the coca growers union.
He has asked his followers to cast invalid votes. (Agencies)
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Al Jazeera
10 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Bolivia to hold presidential run-off between centrist and right-winger
Bolivia is heading to a presidential run-off between a centrist and right-wing candidate, confirming the end of two decades of government by the Movement for Socialism (MAS), according to the South American country's electoral council. With more than 91 percent of the ballots counted on Sunday night, preliminary results showed centrist Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) in the lead, with 32.8 percent of the vote. Conservative former interim President Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, of the Alianza Libre coalition, was in second place, with 26.4 percent of the vote, meaning he will face Paz, the son of former left-leaning President Jaime Paz, in a run-off election on October 19. Candidates needed to surpass 50 percent, or 40 percent with a 10-point margin of victory, to avoid a run-off. Al Jazeera's Latin America editor Lucia Newman, reporting from Bolivia's Santa Cruz de la Sierra, said the early results confirmed that MAS, which has governed the country since 2005, is 'out of the picture'. But the 'biggest surprise', Newman said, is 'that the frontrunner is none other than somebody who was polling between fourth and fifth place up until now'. Paz is 'more to the centre' than his father, Newman added. Eight presidential candidates were in the running in Sunday's presidential election – from the far-right to the political left. Pre-election polls had shown Samuel Doria Medina, a wealthy businessman and former planning minister, as one of two frontrunners alongside Quiroga, who served as interim president and vice president under former military leader President Hugo Banzer. Former leftist President Evo Morales was barred from running, and the outgoing socialist President Luis Arce, who had fallen out with Morales, opted out of the race. The division within their leftist coalition, along with the country's deep economic crisis, meant few expected MAS to return to power. Official results are due within seven days. Voters will also elect all 26 senators and 130 deputies, and officials assume office on November 8. Spiralling inflation The Andean country has been struggling through its worst economic crisis in a generation, marked by annual inflation of almost 25 percent and critical shortages of US dollars and fuel. Bolivians repeatedly took to the streets to protest rocketing prices and hours-long waits for fuel, bread and other basics in the lead-up to Sunday's election. Bolivia enjoyed more than a decade of strong growth and Indigenous upliftment under Morales, who nationalised the gas sector and ploughed the proceeds into social programmes that halved extreme poverty during his stint in power between 2006 and 2019. But a lack of new gas projects under Morales, who was outspoken on environmental issues and climate change, has seen gas revenues plummet from a peak of $6.1bn in 2013 to $1.6bn last year. With the country's other major resource, lithium, still underground, the government has nearly run out of the foreign exchange needed to import fuel, wheat and other foodstuffs.
Qatar Tribune
17 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Bolivia heads to polls as 20 years of leftist rule expected to end
People in Bolivia were headed to the polls to elect the next president as well as the members of the Congress, with the governing socialists expected to lose power after almost 20 years due to a deep economic crisis and division within the leftist coalition. Ballot stations opened on Sunday at 8am (12:00 GMT) and were to close at 4pm (20:00 GMT), with initial results expected after 9pm (01:00 GMT on Monday). The election is also the first time in almost two decades that polling indicates Bolivia's incumbent Movement for Socialism, or MAS, could face defeat. MAS-affiliated and other left-leaning candidates trail the right-wing opposition by about 10 percent, according to the latest August Ipsos MORI survey. Eight presidential candidates are in the running – from the far-right to the political left. But two candidates appear to have a comfortable lead: Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, who served as interim president and vice president under former military ruler Hugo Banzer, and Samuel Doria Mediana, a wealthy businessman and former planning minister. Medina, 66, and Quiroga, 65, are neck-and-neck, according to the polling survey. Former leftist President Evo Morales has been barred from running, and the outgoing socialist President Luis Arce, who had fallen out with Morales, opted out of the race. Eduardo del Castillo, who is backed by outgoing President Arce, is the official MAS party candidate. Andronico Rodriguez, who has distanced himself from the MAS party, is running as an independent. Morales, Bolivia's undisputed left-wing leader for the last 15 years, is holed up in his tropical stronghold, where he still leads the coca growers union. He has asked his followers to cast invalid votes. (Agencies)
Al Jazeera
17 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Polls close in Bolivia as 20 years of leftist rule expected to end
Polls have closed in Bolivia's presidential and general elections, with the governing socialists expected to lose power after almost 20 years due to a deep economic crisis and division within the leftist coalition. Ballot stations shut at 4pm (20:00 GMT) on Sunday, with initial results expected after 9pm (01:00 GMT on Monday). The election is the first time in almost two decades that polling indicates Bolivia's incumbent Movement for Socialism (MAS) could face defeat. MAS-affiliated and other left-leaning candidates trail the right-wing opposition by about 10 percent, according to the latest Ipsos survey done in August. Eight presidential candidates are in the running – from the far-right to the political left. But two candidates appear to have a comfortable lead: Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, who served as interim president and vice president under former military ruler Hugo Banzer, and Samuel Doria Medina, a wealthy businessman and former planning minister. Medina, 66, and Quiroga, 65, are neck and neck, according to the polling survey. Former leftist President Evo Morales has been barred from running, and the outgoing socialist President Luis Arce, who had fallen out with Morales, opted out of the race. The electoral process 'has gone very, very smoothly so far, with only a few minor incidents,' said Al Jazeera's Latin America editor Lucia Newman, reporting from Santa Cruz. The general fears surrounding this election concern the possible repercussions of Morales's call to his supporters, who make up about 20 to 30 percent of the electorate, said Newman. 'They've been asked to vote nil or null [in this election], and if that happens, that could certainly disrupt the outcome because there are so many candidates and no one is expected to get enough' to proceed to a second round, she said. Divided left Eduardo del Castillo, who is backed by outgoing President Arce, is the official MAS party candidate. Andronico Rodriguez, who has distanced himself from the MAS party, is running as an independent. Morales, Bolivia's undisputed left-wing leader for the last 15 years, is holed up in his tropical stronghold, where he still leads the coca growers union. He has asked his followers to cast invalid votes. 'Brothers, we are on the right track. Absenteeism, blank ballots, undecided voters, all of it,' Morales told Radio Kawsachun Coca, his media outlet in the Bolivian jungle of Chapare, where he has been holed up for months among fiercely loyal coca-growing labour unions. If Morales leaves his tropical stronghold, he risks arrest on charges related to statutory rape. He denies the allegations. Official results are due within seven days. Voters will also elect all 26 senators and 130 deputies, and officials assume office on November 8. A run-off election will take place on October 19 if no candidate wins an outright majority. 'Worst crisis in a generation' The Andean country is struggling through its worst crisis in a generation, marked by annual inflation of almost 25 percent and critical shortages of dollars and fuel. The two frontrunners have pledged significant changes to Bolivia's big-state economic model if elected. Doria Medina, a millionaire former planning minister, made a fortune in cement before going on to build Bolivia's biggest skyscraper and acquire the local Burger King franchise. Seen as a centrist, he has promised to halt inflation and bring back fuel and dollars within 100 days, without cutting anti-poverty programmes. 'We will change everything, absolutely everything after 20 lost years,' said the tough-talking Quiroga, who trained as an engineer in the United States, during his closing rally in La Paz on Wednesday. Bolivia enjoyed more than a decade of strong growth and Indigenous upliftment under Morales, who nationalised the gas sector and ploughed the proceeds into social programmes that halved extreme poverty during his stint in power between 2006 and 2019. But underinvestment in exploration has caused gas revenues to implode, falling from a peak of $6.1bn in 2013 to $1.6bn last year. With the country's other major resource, lithium, still underground, the government has nearly run out of the foreign exchange needed to import fuel, wheat and other foodstuffs. Bolivians have repeatedly taken to the streets to protest rocketing prices and hours-long waits for fuel, bread and other basics.
