General Election in Bolivia (2014)

Constitutional amendments

Evo Morales was elected President of Bolivia in 2005 , becoming the first representative of the country's indigenous population in this post ^[2] , then re-elected in 2009 , and became a candidate for a third term in this election, which is formally prohibited by the constitution ^[3] . In April 2013, the Bolivian Supreme Court ruled that the first term of Morales does not count from the moment of amending the constitution of Bolivia. On May 20, Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera signed the law in the presence of deputies, members of the armed forces and the Movement for Socialism , saying that "President Evo Morales is constitutionally allowed to run for re-election in 2015." Oppositionists announced their intention to appeal the decision to cancel it ^[4] .

Date and features of legislation

In November 2013, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced the consideration of elections in October 2014 , despite the fact that a second round of voting for the president could take place in December ^[5] . Later, formally, the elections were scheduled for October 12, 2014 . Registration of new voters was opened on May 10 and lasted until June 9 ^[6] . The official conclusion of the inter-party unions lasted until July 14 . Electoral propaganda began after this date, but a media campaign is allowed only between September 12 and October 8 . The tribunal promised to complete the vote count on October 22 ^[6] .

To win the presidential election, the candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes - more than 50%, or at least 40% of the vote and 10% ahead of the candidate with second place. If the threshold has not been overcome, new elections will be held on December 7, 2014 ^[7] . In the case of single-member legislative seats, new elections are scheduled for November 9 ^[6] .

Parliamentary seats

Elections to the Multinational Legislative Assembly were held simultaneously with the presidential. Senators and multi-member deputies were elected on the basis of a party vote for the presidency. Single-member deputies were elected on a separate line in the ballot ^[7]

Each of the nine departments of administrative division of Bolivia is represented by four senators, appointed on the basis of proportional representation ^[7] . The seats in the Chamber of Deputies were redistributed in accordance with the results of the 2012 census ^[8] . Multi-member seats are selected on the basis of proportional representation in each department. Single-member - by a simple majority vote in each district. Special - by indigenous minority groups. Each candidate has an alternative from the same batch. All candidate lists should alternate between men and women ^[7] . The Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced new constituency boundaries for single-mandate seats in mid- April ^[9]

Polling stations in Bolivia opened on October 12 at 7 a.m. local time (15:00 Moscow time), and closed at 16:00 (midnight Moscow time). 6.2 million out of 10 million people in the country had the right to vote (3 million women versus 2.92 million men). The Supreme Election Court also registered more than 270 thousand voters outside Bolivia - in 70 cities of 33 countries of the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, for which 1.2 thousand polling stations were opened, in addition to about 15 thousand in Bolivia. Voting security was provided by more than 57 thousand police and military personnel ^[10] . About 200 international observers monitored the election process, including a group from UNASUR led by former Peruvian Foreign Minister Rafael Roccancolo , and also from the Organization of American States led by Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom ^[11] . Meanwhile, before the vote began, hackers hacked on Bolivian state television's Twitter page and posted false reports that Morales died as a result of an assassination attempt organized by the CIA that the election was canceled, and that Bolivia declared war on Peru , Chile and the USA ^{[12] [13]} . In general, the elections were held in a calm atmosphere without serious violations ^{[14] [15]} .

According to exit polls, Evo Morales won with 61% of the vote, while the Movement to Socialism retained a majority in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia ^[16] . After that, Morales spoke to thousands of supporters gathered at the presidential palace in La Paz ^[17] , saying:

“... Thank you very much for this new victory of the Bolivian people. I want to tell you on my own behalf, and on behalf of everyone who fought for Bolivia, thank you for the new victory. It was a dispute between two models - nationalization and privatization. Nationalization won by a margin of 60%. This is the victory of the anti-imperialists and anti-colonialists, this is the victory of the Bolivian people. Yes, to the homeland, no, to the colony ” ^[18]

Evo dedicated this victory to Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro ^[19] . Meanwhile, leaders of South American countries have already congratulated Morales, in particular, the President of Uruguay, José Mujica, called him from Montevideo and noted that the time of “revolution and rebellion” was continuing in Bolivia, Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner conveyed congratulations from herself and from all Argentinean people, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro posted a congratulatory message on his Twitter page , Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega called Morales’s victory a continuation of the process of liberating Latin America ^[20] , pos poisoning came from the chairman of the Council of State of Cuba, Raul Castro ^{[21] [22]} .

Preliminary

     The victory of Morales      Victory of Medina ]]