2019 Bolivian political crisis

The 2019 Bolivian political crisis occurred on 10 November 2019, after 21 days of civil protests following the disputed general election. Trade unions, the military and the police of Bolivia asked president Evo Morales to resign. The second vice president of the Senate, opposition senator Jeanine Áñez, assumed the role of president on 12 November.

About 2019 Bolivian political crisis in brief

Summary 2019 Bolivian political crisisThe 2019 Bolivian political crisis occurred on 10 November 2019, after 21 days of civil protests following the disputed general election. Trade unions, the military and the police of Bolivia asked president Evo Morales to resign. The second vice president of the Senate, opposition senator Jeanine Áñez, assumed the role of president on 12 November. On 4 December 2019, the OAS released its final report related to 20 October election, detailing what they called “deliberate” and “malicious” tactics to rig the election in favor of Morales. Human Rights Watch released a report in September 2020, saying that the interim government was “abusing the justice system to wage a politically motivated witch-hunt” against former president Morales and his allies. The bill was signed into law the next day by president �áñez. It annulled the results of the election, allowed for new elections and prevented Morales from participating in the new elections. Morales called for the Bolivians to reject the leadership of Áña, and his supporters argued that the event was a coup d’état. The government of Mexico offered political asylum to Morales the following day, which Morales accepted a day afterwards. On 25 October, two deaths were announced by the European Union, as well as the United States and Latin America. On 31 October, Morales was officially announced as the winner, with the second round to go ahead regardless of whether the first round had been held. On 2 November, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal began to release the preliminary results.

At 7: 40 pm, when 83. 8% of the votes had been counted, the preliminary count stopped because the official results had begun to be released. At 9: 25 pm,. President Morales declared himself the winner. Although uncounted votes in rural areas were expected to go his way, one body observing the election stated that even if Morales did win outright, his lead beyond the 10-point threshold would be so negligible as to warrant a runoff anyway. On 21 October, the Plurinational Electoral Organ reported a still-incomplete count, suggesting that with only 95. 3% of verified votes, Morales had too large of a margin above 10 points to overcome, a second run round, and so Morales would remain in power for a fourth term. The OAS expressed concern about the day-long gap in results reporting: after 24 hours, the updates resumed, but with a surge for Morales at the first update. Based on this result and the two-term presidential limit that Bolvian Constitutional Tribunal had nullified, some foreign governments and international observers called for an audit of the elections. On 24 October, Spain, Paraguay and Paraguay observed by Spain, Mexico, Mexico and Mexico, observed by Paraguay. On October 31, Morales began describing the actions taken against him as a coup. On November 1, the ruling party returned most members to both chambers, with some assuming key positions such as Leader of the senate.