Bolivia to hold presidential run-off between centrist and right-winger

Early results showed centrist Rodrigo Paz instrumentality the lead, with 32.8 percent of the vote, successful astonishment outcome.

Bolivia is heading to a statesmanlike run-off betwixt a centrist and right-wing candidate, confirming the extremity of 2 decades of authorities by the Movement for Socialism (MAS), according to the South American country’s electoral council.

With much than 91 percent of the ballots counted connected Sunday night, preliminary results showed centrist Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) successful the lead, with 32.8 percent of the vote.

Conservative erstwhile interim President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, of the Alianza Libre coalition, was successful 2nd place, with 26.4 percent of the vote, meaning helium volition look Paz, the lad of erstwhile left-leaning President Jaime Paz, successful a run-off predetermination connected October 19.

Candidates needed to surpass 50 percent, oregon 40 percent with a 10-point borderline of victory, to debar a run-off.

Al Jazeera’s Latin America exertion Lucia Newman, reporting from Bolivia’s Santa Cruz de la Sierra, said the aboriginal results confirmed that MAS, which has governed the state since 2005, is “out of the picture”.

But the “biggest surprise”, Newman said, is “that the frontrunner is nary different than idiosyncratic who was polling betwixt 4th and 5th spot up until now”.

Paz is “more to the centre” than his father, Newman added.

Eight statesmanlike candidates were successful the moving successful Sunday’s statesmanlike predetermination – from the far-right to the governmental left.

Pre-election polls had shown Samuel Doria Medina, a affluent businessman and erstwhile readying minister, arsenic 1 of 2 frontrunners alongside Quiroga, who served arsenic interim president and vice president nether erstwhile subject person President Hugo Banzer.

Former leftist President Evo Morales was barred from running, and the outgoing socialist President Luis Arce, who had fallen retired with Morales, opted retired of the race.

The part wrong their leftist coalition, on with the country’s deep economical crisis, meant fewer expected MAS to instrumentality to power.

Official results are owed wrong 7 days. Voters volition besides elite each 26 senators and 130 deputies, and officials presume bureau connected November 8.

Electoral workers number votes during the wide predetermination for president and members of Congress, successful Santa Cruz, Bolivia connected Sunday [Ipa Ibanez/Reuters]

Spiralling inflation

The Andean state has been struggling done its worst economical situation successful a generation, marked by yearly ostentation of astir 25 percent and captious shortages of US dollars and fuel.

Bolivians repeatedly took to the streets to protestation rocketing prices and hours-long waits for fuel, breadstuff and different basics successful the lead-up to Sunday’s election.

Bolivia enjoyed much than a decennary of beardown maturation and Indigenous upliftment nether Morales, who nationalised the state assemblage and ploughed the proceeds into societal programmes that halved utmost poorness during his stint successful powerfulness betwixt 2006 and 2019.

But a deficiency of caller state projects nether Morales, who was outspoken connected biology issues and climate change, has seen state revenues plummet from a highest of $6.1bn successful 2013 to $1.6bn past year.

With the country’s different large resource, lithium, inactive underground, the authorities has astir tally retired of the overseas speech needed to import fuel, wheat and different foodstuffs.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies