Socialist candidate Louis Ars is already receiving congratulatory messages.
“We have to lead the opposition. We will make Bolivia proud,” Mesa said on Twitter on Monday morning. He also thanked the voters for their support.
The country’s interim president, Jeanne Aiz, has said that the results so far indicate that Ars has won.
“We don’t have an official calculation yet, but from the data we have, Mr. Arse and [vice-presidential candidate] Mr. [David] Chokkuhuaka has won the election. I congratulate the winners, “Aze said on Twitter.
Ars, the frontrunner in the race, represents the Movement to Socialism, led by party president Evo Morales, who is currently in exile in Argentina. Arsસેne, whom Morales considers his successor, has previously served as the country’s finance minister.
His closest rival was Mesa, who leads Bolivia’s Citizen Community Party.
According to Bolivia’s election rules, a candidate needs at least 40% of the vote to win, and has a 10% lead over his opponent to win during the first round.
Less than 20% of the votes have been officially counted, and it may take a few days for the election winner to be formally announced. Unofficial exit polls suggest Ars has a strong enough lead to claim the presidency.
The economy is also struggling. Unemployment has risen since the epidemic began, with the International Monetary Fund predicting a drop in GDP by almost a drop this year, and the U.S. Bolivia’s position in the credit ratings agency capital declined.
Meanwhile, former President Morales, who lived in Buenos Aires after fleeing Bolivia amid allegations of vote fraud last year, has expressed a desire to return to Bolivia.
Speaking to CNN, Morales said: “Sooner or later we will return to Bolivia,” adding that his return is “a matter of time.”
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