Bolivia presidential election: preliminary results put two rightwing candidates in run-off vote
The candidate with the most votes, however, turned out to be a surprise: centre-right senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, 57, who had started the campaign with just 3% support in opinion polls.
In second came Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, 65, a rightwing former president who briefly led the country in 2001 after the resignation of ex-dictator Hugo Banzer.
With just over 92% of ballots counted in the electoral court's 'preliminary' tally, Paz Pereira was on 32.1% and Quiroga on 26.9%.
Quiroga said: 'It is a historic night – not for one party, not for one faction, not for one candidacy, but for all Bolivians who have spoken with strength, with faith, with hope and with dignity. Today, we have taken a giant step towards a better tomorrow.'
The electoral court stressed that the figures are 'preliminary and not definitive'. That is because Bolivia uses two counts: a quicker one, based on photos of each ballot sent to a data-processing centre, and the slower definitive one, where every vote is publicly counted and scrutinised at polling stations before entering the system.
The court has up to seven days to release the official results.
As neither secured more than 50% of the vote, or at least 40% with a 10-point lead over the runner-up, a second round will be held on 19 October.
Like the first round, the run-off campaign is expected to be dominated by the economic crisis – the worst in four decades – with shortages of dollars and fuel and rising inflation.
Deeply unpopular president Luis Arce, of Mas, chose not to seek re-election and instead put forward his interior minister, 36-year-old Eduardo del Castillo, who won just 3.15% of the vote.
It is a paltry share compared with the more than 50% that had secured first-round victories for Arce and former president Evo Morales in the past – but just enough for the party to avoid losing its legal status, as the threshold is set at 3%.
According to the preliminary count, 19.1% of ballots were null and void – far above the historic average in Bolivian elections, which has typically been below 5%.
Bolivia's first Indigenous leader, Morales had spent recent weeks urging his supporters to cast null and void votes in protest against rulings by the constitutional and electoral courts that blocked him from seeking a fourth term.
Business tycoon Samuel Doria Medina, 66, who had led polls for much of the campaign, ended up third with 19.89% of the vote.
Doria Medina acknowledged his defeat and announced that he would back Paz Pereira in the run-off.
In the Bolivian press, analysts suggested one possible advantage for Paz Pereira was that the campaign battle in recent weeks had been concentrated between Quiroga, Doria Medina and the left, leaving the senator outside the main line of attacks – or even of fake news campaigns.
Also, polls indicated there were still large numbers of undecided voters before election day.
The highest-placed leftwing candidate was Senator Andrónico Rodríguez, 36, who left Mas to run with a small coalition. Having once polled as high as third, he eventually finished fourth with just over 8%.
More than 2,500 national and international observers, from bodies including the European Union and the Organisation of American States, monitored the vote and were expected to publish their preliminary reports in the coming days. During the day, they said polling had proceeded normally.
According to the electoral court, the election took place without problems, apart from some 'isolated incidents.'
One of them involved Rodríguez. As he voted in Entre Ríos, a Morales stronghold about 50 miles from where the former president remains entrenched, the 36-year-old senator was booed and pelted with stones by what he described as 'a small group of extremists identified as supporters of Morales.'
Rodríguez had to be escorted by a member of the armed forces to cast his vote. He was not injured. Once seen as Morales's natural heir due to his Indigenous roots and leadership in the coca growers' union, the senator was called a traitor for launching his own candidacy.
Wanted on an arrest warrant since October for allegedly fathering a child with a 15-year-old, Morales voted in Villa 14 de Septiembre, about 25 miles from the tiny village where hundreds of coca growers have prevented police and the army from detaining the former president.
Morales denies having committed any crime and claims the case is part of a plan by the current government to destroy him politically.
President Arce, who served as Morales's finance minister before becoming his main rival, cast his vote in La Paz and said he would ensure 'an absolutely democratic transition' in November, when the next president is sworn in.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Explainer: Who are Bolivia's presidential runoff contenders promising economic overhaul?
Aug 18 (Reuters) - Bolivia will hold a presidential runoff on October 19 between centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz and conservative former President Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, after no candidate secured a decisive victory in the August 17 first-round vote. The election marks a significant political shift, following the worst electoral defeat for the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) party in two decades. Paz led the initial round, and the outcome will now depend on which candidate can win over the supporters of eliminated rivals. Rodrigo Paz, a 57-year-old economist and senator for the centrist Christian Democratic Party (PDC), is a career politician aiming to present himself as an experienced but fresh alternative. He is the son of former President Jaime Paz Zamora and has previously served as a congressman and the mayor of Tarija in southern Bolivia. After the August 17 vote, he secured the endorsement of business magnate Samuel Doria Medina, who finished third in the first round. Paz's platform is built on decentralizing the government and modernizing the economy. His flagship proposal is a "50-50 economic model," which would see the central government manage only half of all public funds, with the other half going directly to regional governments. He also advocates for shutting down unprofitable state-owned companies. To tackle corruption, Paz proposes implementing blockchain technology for greater transparency. Addressing Bolivia's economic concerns, he plans to create a currency stabilization fund that would incorporate cryptocurrency assets, which have become a popular hedge against inflation in the country. A well-known figure in Bolivian politics, Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, 65, is a conservative candidate representing the Alianza Libre coalition. He briefly served as president from 2001 to 2002 and has worked as an IMF consultant and a mining executive. Quiroga frames his campaign as a "radical change" to reverse what he terms the "20 lost years" under socialist leadership. Quiroga promises deep cuts to public spending and judicial reform. He has praised the economic policies of Javier Milei, neighboring Argentina's libertarian president, and has indicated he would consider a rescue package from the International Monetary Fund. On foreign policy, he has promised to re-establish Bolivia's severed relations with Israel. A unique proposal from his campaign is the creation of a "popular property title" valued at $1,500 for every adult Bolivian, which could be used as collateral to secure loans. His platform is seen as friendly to the private sector and aims for closer ties with the United States.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Two decades of leftwing dominance end in Bolivia as rightwingers head to election runoff
Bolivia's presidential election will go to a runoff for the first time, with two rightwing candidates competing for the presidency – marking the end of nearly 20 years of dominance by the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas). The candidate with the most votes, however, turned out to be a surprise: centre-right senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, 57, who had started the campaign with just 3% support in opinion polls. In second came Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, 65, a rightwing former president who briefly led the country in 2001 after the resignation of ex-dictator Hugo Banzer. With just over 92% of ballots counted in the electoral court's 'preliminary' tally, Paz Pereira was on 32.1% and Quiroga on 26.9%. 'I want to thank all the men and women who made this possible and gave a voice to those of us who had none, who didn't appear in the polls, who didn't exist,' said Pereira, the son of former president Jaime Paz Zamora, who governed from 1989 to 1993. Pereira, the senator for Tarija, gave effusive thanks to his running mate, former police captain Edman Lara Montaño, who became known for exposing police corruption and who, according to many analysts, was a decisive draw for voters. 'We will fight corruption head on, dammit!' Pereira shouted to journalists and dozens of supporters waiting for his speech late on Sunday in La Paz. Quiroga said: 'It is a historic night – not for one party, not for one faction, not for one candidacy, but for all Bolivians who have spoken with strength, with faith, with hope and with dignity. Today, we have taken a giant step towards a better tomorrow.' The electoral court stressed that the figures are 'preliminary and not definitive'. That is because Bolivia uses two counts: a quicker one, based on photos of each ballot sent to a data-processing centre, and the slower definitive one, where every vote is publicly counted and scrutinised at polling stations before entering the system. The court has up to seven days to release the official results. As neither secured more than 50% of the vote, or at least 40% with a 10-point lead over the runner-up, a second round will be held on 19 October. Like the first round, the run-off campaign is expected to be dominated by the economic crisis – the worst in four decades – with shortages of dollars and fuel and rising inflation. Deeply unpopular president Luis Arce, of Mas, chose not to seek re-election and instead put forward his interior minister, 36-year-old Eduardo del Castillo, who won just 3.15% of the vote. It is a paltry share compared with the more than 50% that had secured first-round victories for Arce and former president Evo Morales in the past – but just enough for the party to avoid losing its legal status, as the threshold is set at 3%. According to the preliminary count, 19.1% of ballots were null and void – far above the historic average in Bolivian elections, which has typically been below 5%. Bolivia's first Indigenous leader, Morales had spent recent weeks urging his supporters to cast null and void votes in protest against rulings by the constitutional and electoral courts that blocked him from seeking a fourth term. Business tycoon Samuel Doria Medina, 66, who had led polls for much of the campaign, ended up third with 19.89% of the vote. Doria Medina acknowledged his defeat and announced that he would back Paz Pereira in the run-off. In the Bolivian press, analysts suggested one possible advantage for Paz Pereira was that the campaign battle in recent weeks had been concentrated between Quiroga, Doria Medina and the left, leaving the senator outside the main line of attacks – or even of fake news campaigns. Also, polls indicated there were still large numbers of undecided voters before election day. The highest-placed leftwing candidate was Senator Andrónico Rodríguez, 36, who left Mas to run with a small coalition. Having once polled as high as third, he eventually finished fourth with just over 8%. More than 2,500 national and international observers, from bodies including the European Union and the Organisation of American States, monitored the vote and were expected to publish their preliminary reports in the coming days. During the day, they said polling had proceeded normally. According to the electoral court, the election took place without problems, apart from some 'isolated incidents.' One of them involved Rodríguez. As he voted in Entre Ríos, a Morales stronghold about 50 miles from where the former president remains entrenched, the 36-year-old senator was booed and pelted with stones by what he described as 'a small group of extremists identified as supporters of Morales.' Rodríguez had to be escorted by a member of the armed forces to cast his vote. He was not injured. Once seen as Morales's natural heir due to his Indigenous roots and leadership in the coca growers' union, the senator was called a traitor for launching his own candidacy. Wanted on an arrest warrant since October for allegedly fathering a child with a 15-year-old, Morales voted in Villa 14 de Septiembre, about 25 miles from the tiny village where hundreds of coca growers have prevented police and the army from detaining the former president. Morales denies having committed any crime and claims the case is part of a plan by the current government to destroy him politically. President Arce, who served as Morales's finance minister before becoming his main rival, cast his vote in La Paz and said he would ensure 'an absolutely democratic transition' in November, when the next president is sworn in.
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Two decades of leftwing dominance end in Bolivia as rightwingers head to election runoff
Bolivia's presidential election will go to a runoff for the first time, with two rightwing candidates competing for the presidency – marking the end of nearly 20 years of dominance by the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas). The candidate with the most votes, however, turned out to be a surprise: centre-right senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, 57, who had started the campaign with just 3% support in opinion polls. In second came Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, 65, a rightwing former president who briefly led the country in 2001 after the resignation of ex-dictator Hugo Banzer. With just over 92% of ballots counted in the electoral court's 'preliminary' tally, Paz Pereira was on 32.1% and Quiroga on 26.9%. 'I want to thank all the men and women who made this possible and gave a voice to those of us who had none, who didn't appear in the polls, who didn't exist,' said Pereira, the son of former president Jaime Paz Zamora, who governed from 1989 to 1993. Pereira, the senator for Tarija, gave effusive thanks to his running mate, former police captain Edman Lara Montaño, who became known for exposing police corruption and who, according to many analysts, was a decisive draw for voters. 'We will fight corruption head on, dammit!' Pereira shouted to journalists and dozens of supporters waiting for his speech late on Sunday in La Paz. Quiroga said: 'It is a historic night – not for one party, not for one faction, not for one candidacy, but for all Bolivians who have spoken with strength, with faith, with hope and with dignity. Today, we have taken a giant step towards a better tomorrow.' The electoral court stressed that the figures are 'preliminary and not definitive'. That is because Bolivia uses two counts: a quicker one, based on photos of each ballot sent to a data-processing centre, and the slower definitive one, where every vote is publicly counted and scrutinised at polling stations before entering the system. The court has up to seven days to release the official results. As neither secured more than 50% of the vote, or at least 40% with a 10-point lead over the runner-up, a second round will be held on 19 October. Like the first round, the run-off campaign is expected to be dominated by the economic crisis – the worst in four decades – with shortages of dollars and fuel and rising inflation. Deeply unpopular president Luis Arce, of Mas, chose not to seek re-election and instead put forward his interior minister, 36-year-old Eduardo del Castillo, who won just 3.15% of the vote. It is a paltry share compared with the more than 50% that had secured first-round victories for Arce and former president Evo Morales in the past – but just enough for the party to avoid losing its legal status, as the threshold is set at 3%. According to the preliminary count, 19.1% of ballots were null and void – far above the historic average in Bolivian elections, which has typically been below 5%. Bolivia's first Indigenous leader, Morales had spent recent weeks urging his supporters to cast null and void votes in protest against rulings by the constitutional and electoral courts that blocked him from seeking a fourth term. Business tycoon Samuel Doria Medina, 66, who had led polls for much of the campaign, ended up third with 19.89% of the vote. Doria Medina acknowledged his defeat and announced that he would back Paz Pereira in the run-off. In the Bolivian press, analysts suggested one possible advantage for Paz Pereira was that the campaign battle in recent weeks had been concentrated between Quiroga, Doria Medina and the left, leaving the senator outside the main line of attacks – or even of fake news campaigns. Also, polls indicated there were still large numbers of undecided voters before election day. The highest-placed leftwing candidate was Senator Andrónico Rodríguez, 36, who left Mas to run with a small coalition. Having once polled as high as third, he eventually finished fourth with just over 8%. More than 2,500 national and international observers, from bodies including the European Union and the Organisation of American States, monitored the vote and were expected to publish their preliminary reports in the coming days. During the day, they said polling had proceeded normally. According to the electoral court, the election took place without problems, apart from some 'isolated incidents.' One of them involved Rodríguez. As he voted in Entre Ríos, a Morales stronghold about 50 miles from where the former president remains entrenched, the 36-year-old senator was booed and pelted with stones by what he described as 'a small group of extremists identified as supporters of Morales.' Rodríguez had to be escorted by a member of the armed forces to cast his vote. He was not injured. Once seen as Morales's natural heir due to his Indigenous roots and leadership in the coca growers' union, the senator was called a traitor for launching his own candidacy. Wanted on an arrest warrant since October for allegedly fathering a child with a 15-year-old, Morales voted in Villa 14 de Septiembre, about 25 miles from the tiny village where hundreds of coca growers have prevented police and the army from detaining the former president. Morales denies having committed any crime and claims the case is part of a plan by the current government to destroy him politically. President Arce, who served as Morales's finance minister before becoming his main rival, cast his vote in La Paz and said he would ensure 'an absolutely democratic transition' in November, when the next president is sworn in.
