Bolivian Lawmakers Prepare to Call New Elections to End Violence
Bolivian Lawmakers Prepare to Call New Elections to End Violence
(Bloomberg) -- Bolivian lawmakers pledged to approve legislation paving the way for new presidential elections in an effort to end the political crisis triggered by the resignation of Evo Morales earlier this month.
The government of the interim president, Jeanine Anez, sent a bill to the Senate on Wednesday that proposes lawmakers appoint a new head of the electoral authority within 15 days so that a general election can he held as soon as possible. Justice Minister Alvaro Coimbra said the first step will be annulling the result of the Oct. 20 vote, which election observers from the Organization of American States say was plagued by irregularities.
Morales’s MAS party, which has a majority in both chambers of congress, sent a bill of its own that proposes the vote be held in March, when local elections are scheduled. The party also wants candidates from last month’s vote to be able to run, raising the possibility that Morales could seek a new term.
The Senate will discuss the two bills Thursday before sending on an election proposal for debate by the lower chamber.
Morales quit Nov. 10, along with his vice president and the heads of congress, and fled to Mexico saying he was the victim of a “right-wing coup.” In a Nov. 18 interview, he said Anez, an opposition senator, has no constitutional right to occupy the office.
Despite this, Sergio Choque, a Morales ally who was named head of the lower chamber on Wednesday, said he recognized Anez as interim president. Lawmakers are ready to work through the weekend to find “a definitive solution to the problem afflicting our country,” he told reporters Wednesday.
Henry Cabrera, another MAS lawmaker who’s deputy head of the chamber, said the party will field an alternative candidate to Morales. “We’re going to elections with new candidates,” he told the Unitel network Thursday.
The Andean nation has been in violent turmoil since last month’s disputed vote. Eight people were killed during clashes with security forces Tuesday when Morales supporters sought to prevent trucks leaving a major fuel plant near La Paz, taking to 32 the number of deaths since the unrest began, according to the country’s ombudsman.
Bolivia’s dollar bonds due 2028 have rebounded from a slump that followed the Oct. 20 vote, as investors welcome the prospect of new elections. The notes traded at 94 cents on the dollar at 2:38 p.m. in New York, up from 90 cents a week ago.
To contact the reporter on this story: John Quigley in Lima at jquigley8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Matthew Bristow, Robert Jameson
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