Result of Bolivian presidential elections will not be known on Sunday | World

In the 2019 elections, it was precisely the adoption of the two parallel systems that caused confusion, when the numbers of the Preliminary Election Results Transmission system, called Trep, began to differ from the individual vote count.

The voting this Sunday took place in a peaceful atmosphere and ended without problems at 5 in the afternoon (6 in the afternoon in Brasilia), still with lines in some polling stations. Those who were still in those places had the right to vote.

Voters voted to choose who will replace Jeanine Añez, the interim president who took office in November 2019, after the nullity of the vote that year and the disturbances that led to the resignation of Evo Morales (read more at the end of the story).

They were the first elections in Bolivia without Evo Morales since 1997.

The chose it can be decided in the first round if one of the candidates has at least 40% of the votes valid and more than ten percentage points more than the runner-up. If no one achieves this result, a second round is scheduled for November 29.

To avoid last year’s troubles, groups linked to foundations and universities observed polling places, according to Juan Carlos Nunes, from the Jubilee Foundation, a Catholic foundation to promote democracy in the country.

The events of 2019, he says, caused people to lose confidence in the electoral court. The Bolivians created their own national “observation missions”, receiving instructions from technicians from the OAS and the European Union.

Nunes predicts that the country will have a second round. “The MAS electorate is very loyal, especially in rural areas. This vote will continue with Arce, but it has a limit that is not like in recent years, when Evo had the support of 70%, 80% of rural areas or people who had emigrated from the countryside to the cities. “

See below who are the three competitors leading the investigation:

• Luis Arce He is the candidate of the MAS, the party of Evo Morales. Arce was Evo’s economy minister; in that position, he was responsible for the nationalization of companies. During the campaign, he sought to distance himself from the more controversial aspects of the Evo years; He said, for example, that he will not interfere in the investigations against former MAS ministers.
• Carlos Mesa he was president of Bolivia between 2003 and 2005. He ran against Evo in the 2019 elections and came in second. He is considered a centrist.
• Luis Fernando Camacho is a far-right leader who led protests against Evo. It is from Santa Cruz, the most populated state.

There are other candidates, but they score poorly in the polls.

Arce has 33.6% of the voters’ preference, followed by Mesa, with 26.8%, according to a survey by the organization Tu Voto Cuenta, carried out between October 2 and 5. Camacho, in third place, has 13.9% of the voting intentions.

Two right-wing candidates dropped out: interim president Jeanine Añez and Jorge Quiroga, who was also the country’s leader.

The two left the elections to avoid a victory in the first round for Arce, Evo’s candidate. However, none declared their support for Mesa, the runner-up.

Some issues are fundamental to the current struggle for power in Bolivia:

• Evo Morales: The former president is exiled in Argentina. He is investigated by prosecutors for alleged crimes of a different nature, he denies all of them. There are accusations of corruption, electoral fraud and sexual abuse. Mesa said that in his government, Evo would not go unpunished for his crimes (which have not yet been tried). Arce, an ally of the former president, said that he will facilitate the return of his ally.

• Coca policy: The coca leaf is a traditional culture in Bolivia. In the Evo years, farmers who planted the coca leaf were supported by the government, which put an end to the operations of US anti-drug agencies in the country. Both candidates say that it is necessary to fight against drugs. Arce says that traditional agricultural regions must be protected by law. Mesa says it is necessary to control more legal production.

• Relations with USA: During Evo’s administration, the relationship between Bolivia and the United States cooled – there has been no US ambassador to Bolivia since 2008. Arce promised to “work with everyone,” and Mesa said there is no reason not to resume a full relationship with the ambassadors. , with the United States.
• Lithium: The mineral is used and batteries for electric vehicles. Bolivia has large reserves of the material and they have been little explored. Both candidates indicated that they intend to change that. Mesa has already stated that he intends to turn the country into a global producer. Arce said he wants to industrialize lithium and create 130,000 direct and indirect jobs in this chain.

Understand the 2019 Canceled Elections

The vote to elect the next president is the second in a year. On October 20, 2019, Evo ran for the fourth time and finished first (Mesa, who is now racing again, came second). As he had more than 40% of the votes, he was considered a winner.

The initial result of the count indicated a second round, but there were interruptions in the count. After days of uncertainty, the process was resumed and Evo was the winner.

Then the protests against the results began.

On November 10, 2019, the Organization of American States (OAS) released a report stating that the elections had been rigged.

Evo canceled the results and called for new elections immediately. However, the action was not enough: under pressure from the military, he resigned and then fled the country. Initially he went to Mexico and then went into exile in Argentina.

Subsequently, studies by US research groups questioned the OAS claim that the 2019 elections were rigged.

Or interim government of Jeanine Añez

A right-wing senator, Jeanine Añez, assumed the presidency on an interim basis. When he came to power, his ancient texts on social media showed that he had said that the Aymara, indigenous peoples of Bolivia, practiced satanic rituals.

During his months in power, investigations of MAS leaders for terrorism were opened.

In May, his health minister was arrested for embezzling money that should be used to buy respirators for Covid-19 patients.

Áñez postponed the presidential elections twice.

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