La Paz – The electoral colleges of Bolivia opened this Sunday first thing to start elections in which more than 7.9 million citizens are summoned to choose the successor of the leftist president, Luis Arce.
Eight candidates compete for the State Headquarters, in a context of strong fragmentation within the movement to socialism (MAS), which has governed the country for almost two decades.
The official candidate is former Minister Eduardo del Castillo, backed by Arce but faced with the “Evista” wing headed by Evo Morales, who questions the legitimacy of the process and called his followers to vote null.
Morales, disabled to run, ensures that the elections lack guarantees.
During the opening ceremony, the interim president of the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), Óscar Hassenteufel, expressed his desire that the day will develop “without difficulties or setbacks” and stressed the body’s commitment to act with “efficiency, transparency and impartiality.”
“We can incur errors, since we are not infallible, but there is no doubt about our honesty and good faith,” he said to national and international observers.
“Sabotage attempts”
The electoral day is accompanied by warnings about possible sabotage attempts. The Minister of Government, Roberto Ríos Sanjinés, denounced on Saturday that sectors related to Evo Morales called to hinder the process, especially in the region of the Tropic of Cochabamba, a traditional bastion of the exmandatario.
The government urged “not to get carried away by calls to the confrontation,” he urged the international community to stay alert.
Despite these threats, Ríos said that security forces guarantee the normal development of the elections, highlighting that even in traditionally critical areas the development of campaign activities was allowed.
Until Sunday morning, more than 1,200 people were arrested for infractions related to the electoral day, mainly due to alcohol consumption, unauthorized meetings or use of vehicles without special permission.
“We will leave this crisis”
The opposition presidential candidate Samuel Doria Medina, asked for a vote of confidence to get out of the economic crisis after 20 years of leftist governments.
The businessman fights side by side with the former right-wing of the right Jorge Quiroga (2001-2002) to reach the presidency of this country of 11.3 million inhabitants.
Surveys anticipate a ballot between both scheduled for October 19.
“Today is a very important day for Bolivians because through the vote we can get out of this economic crisis in a peaceful way, democratically,” Doria Medina told the press after voting at a school in La Paz.
The Coalition candidate Alliance Unit promises a 100 -day shock plan to combat the shortage of fuel, dollars and some basic products.
The country, rich in lithium resources for exploiting, is going through an acute economic crisis. He has almost exhausted his dollar reserves to solve an onerous policy of fuel subsidies.
Interannual inflation reached 24.8% in July.
