Elections in Bolivia
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Bolivia has a
Ahead of any national election a period of prohibition takes effect. This is with the intention of preventing inebriated nationals voting in error. Nationals are also forbidden from travelling around during the same period. This is to prevent voters from voting in more than one district. On polling day it is difficult to obtain a taxi or bus, due to the limitations placed upon travel and transport.
Schedule
This section needs to be updated.(February 2015) |
Election
Position | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Presidential and National Congress (December 6) | Regional (April)
|
Judicial (October 16) | only special elections | Presidential and National Congress (October 12) | Regional (April)
| |
President and vice president |
President and vice president | None | President and vice president | None | |||
National Congress | All seats | None | All seats | None | |||
Departments, provinces, and municipalities | None | All positions | None | All positions |
Inauguration
Position | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Presidential (November) National Congress (November) Gubernatorial (November) |
None | Presidential (November) National Congress (November) Gubernatorial (November) | |||
President and vice president |
6 November | None | 6 November | |||
National Congress | 6 November | None | 6 November | |||
Provinces, cities and municipalities | 6 November | None | 6 November |
Electoral system
The president is directly elected by the people, by majority. A candidate has to receive at least 50% of the vote, or 40% of the vote, and 10% more than the second candidate to be elected, otherwise a second round is held with the top two finishers to determine the winner.
The 130 members in the
The remaining seven seats are reserved indigenous seats elected by the usos y costumbres, using first-past-the-post voting. A voter can only vote in one of either the normal constituencies or special constituencies.
The
Both the senate, and the proportional part of the Chamber of Deputies is elected based on the vote for the presidential candidates, while the deputies from the single-member districts are elected using separate votes. Party lists are required to alternate between men and women, while candidates in single-member districts are required to have an alternate, of the opposite sex. At least 50% of the single-member deputies are required to be women [1]
History of elections in Bolivia
Indirect elections, 1825-50
Elections were conducted in the early Republican period using multiple levels of electors, each of which would elect members of the next higher level, culminating in the president.[2]
Direct elections with restricted suffrage, 1839 and 1850-1938
In the elections of 1839, however, the president was elected by a majority of all voters. This system became the norm beginning in 1850. Voting requirements included a minimum property or income or service in one of the professions, and forbid all those "in domestic service" from voting. Indigenous peoples were effectively excluded from the franchise.
Expanding electorate, 1938-1951
Under the Constitution of 1938, property restrictions on voting were removed however the vote was still restricted to those who were male, literate, and of age. Elections were held in 1940 and 1951, and saw a dramatic expansion of the electorate.
Universal suffrage and interruptions in democracy, 1952-79
Shortly after coming to power through the
Democratic transition and final dictatorship, 1979-82
In a chaotic period of transition marked by numerous
Multiparty democracy, 1982-present
Elections have been held regularly in the democratic period that began in 1982. General elections were held in 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2005, and 2009.
Latest elections
2020 Bolivian general election
On 18 October 2020, Bolivian voters elected Luis Arce, leader of Evo Morales' MAS-IPSP, as Bolivia's president with 55% of the vote in the first round. Arce's main opponents, Carlos Mesa and Luis Fernando Camacho, received 29% and 14% of the vote, respectively. Arce took the office of president on 8 November 2020.
2017 Bolivian judicial election
2021 Bolivian regional elections
Other elections and referendum
2015 Autonomy referendum
On September 20, 2015, five western and central departments—Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, La Paz, Oruro, and Potosí—voted on whether to approve "organic charters" (constitutions of autonomous governance), as did three municipalities and two indigenous territories.[5] Voters in all five departments rejected their charters of autonomy, which were drafted by MAS-IPSP–led legislatures.
Department | Yes votes | % | No votes | % | Blank | Null | Total ballots cast | Eligible voters | Turnout as % of electorate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cochabamba | 335,464 | 38.42% | 537,706 | 61.58% | 17,910 | 57,930 | 949,010 | 1,137,872 | 83.4% |
Chuquisaca | 99,819 | 42.57% | 134,652 | 57.43% | 5,917 | 18,057 | 267,445 | 324,587 | |
La Paz | 425,605 | 31.94% | 906,759 | 68.06% | 30,159 | 88,885 | 1,026,228 | ||
Oruro | 59,119 | 25.98% | 168,443 | 74.02% | 5,800 | 14,064 | 297,217 | ||
Potosí | 93,705 | 31.92% | 199,823 | 68.08% | 8,278 | 21,546 | 323,352 | 408,131 | 79.2% |
Sources: "Referendo autonómico: A cómputo final ganó el No en cinco departamentos". Agencia de Noticias Fides. 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2016-03-13. |
2011 Special municipal election
A special election is due be held for the mayor of five cities where mayors have stepped down or been indicted. In July 2011, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal formally convoked the elections for mayor in three cities: Sucre, Quillacollo, and Pazña for December 18, 2011.[6]
City | Outgoing Mayor (Party) | Notes |
---|---|---|
Sucre , Chuquisaca
|
Jaime Barrón (PAÍS) | Resigned in July 2010 under indictment for May 24, 2008 violence
|
Quillacollo, Cochabamba | Héctor Cartagena (UNE) | |
Punata, Cochabamba | Víctor Balderrama (Insurgente Martín Uchu) | Suspended under indictment for aggravated rape of a minor on August 10, 2010 (convicted September 2011[7]); pledged to resign to allow new elections |
Pazña, Oruro | Víctor Centeno (MAS-IPSP) | Resigned on 15 June 2010 under "psychological pressure and regional divisions"[8] |
Catacora, La Paz |
See also
- Electoral calendar
- Electoral system
Notes
References
- ^ a b c "Bolivia: Ley del Régimen Electoral, 30 de junio de 2010". Lexivox. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ Barragán R., Rossana (2005). "Ciudadanía y elecciones, convenciones y debates". Regiones y poder constituyente en Bolivia: Una historia de pactos y disputas. Cuaderno de futuro. PNUD. pp. 287–294.
- ^ a b Cordero Carraffa, Carlos Hugo (February 2007). Historia Electoral de Bolivia: 1952-2007 (PDF). Cuadernos de trabajo. Corte Nacional Electoral. p. 27.
- ^ Córdova, Eduardo (2009). "Cochabamba es el centro es la ausencia: Impulsos estatales y sociales de la descentralización en Cochabamba (1994–2008)". Decursos: Revista de Ciencias Sociales. XI (20): 61–95 [68].
- ^ "Referendo para Aprobación de Estatutos Autonómicos y Cartas Orgánicas 2015". Tribunal Supremo Electoral. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14.
- ^ "Convocan a comicios electorales en 3 municipios". Página Siete. 2011-07-22. Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
- ^ "Condenan con 25 años de prisión al Alcalde suspendido de Punata". La Razón. 2011-08-08. Retrieved 2011-08-08.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "En Quillacollo y Pazña habrán nuevas elecciones para alcalde Archived 2011-09-11 at the Wayback Machine," Bolivianpress.com, 16 June 2011.