INSIGHTi
Bolivia: Elections Postponed to October
Updated July 24, 2020
On July 23, 2020, Bolivia’s electoral tribunal announced the postponement of general elections from
September 6 to October 18 due to the escalating Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Bolivia has been polarized since the November 2019 resignation of President Evo Morales of the
Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party and already postponed elections original y scheduled for May
3 due to a national quarantine. Unrest and the surging pandemic (Interim President Jeanette Añez and
several in her cabinet have contracted COVID-19) could threaten the elections.
The United States remains concerned about the political volatility in Bolivia and has supported efforts to
ensure the upcoming elections are free and fair.
October Elections Annulled
Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, transformed Bolivia, but observers criticized his efforts to
remain in office (he won elections in 2006, 2009, and 2014). In 2017, Bolivia’s Constitutional Tribunal
removed limits on reelection established in the 2009 constitution, effectively overruling a 2016
referendum in which voters rejected a constitutional change to al ow Morales to run for another term.
Al egations of fraud marred Bolivia’s October
Figure 1. Bolivia at a Glance
election. The electoral tribunal said Morales
exceeded the 10-point margin necessary to avoid
a runoff over former president Carlos Mesa, but
Mesa rejected that result. Some protesters cal ed
for a new election; others demanded Morales’s
resignation.
On November 10, 2019, the Organization of
American States (OAS) issued preliminary
findings suggesting enough irregularities to merit
a new election. (Some experts have since

chal enged aspects of those findings.) Morales
Sources: CRS Graphics, International Monetary Fund (IMF),
agreed to hold new elections, but the opposition
Central Intel igence Agency (CIA), Instituto Nacional de
rejected his offer. Morales resigned after police
Estadísticas (INE), Global Trade Atlas (GTA).
refused to stop protesters, ministers resigned, and
civic organizations and the military urged him to step down. He sought asylum in Mexico and then
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Argentina. In late November 2019, the MAS-led Congress passed a law to annul the October elections
and select a new electoral tribunal. In December, the final OAS election audit report found “intentional
manipulation” of the results.
Interim Government
Interim President Añez, a little-known opposition senator from Beni, became president following the
resignation of three MAS officials ahead of her in the line of succession. Añez’s past anti-indigenous
rhetoric and conservative cabinet raised concerns among some of Bolivia’s indigenous population, which
became empowered under Morales. The MAS-led Congress initial y refused to accept Añez’s
government, and MAS supporters protested. Añez issued a decree giving the military authority to
participate in crowd-control efforts and immunity from prosecution while doing so. The Inter-American
Commission of Human Rights documented 36 deaths and 400 injuries that occurred in mid-November
2019, including two massacres involving state forces. The government rejected those findings.
According to Bolivia’s constitution, the interim government has a limited mandate: to convene new
elections. Observers have criticized Añez for exceeding that mandate. Añez reversed many MAS foreign
policy positions by expel ing Cuban officials, including doctors, and recognizing Interim Venezuelan
President Juan Guaidó. Añez’s attorney general has charged Morales with terrorism, and prosecutors have
pursued cases against former MAS officials. Military officials received promotions without legislative
approval.
Although the interim government has strictly enforced a quarantine in response to COVID-19, Bolivia’s
weak health system has been hobbled. Bolivia received a $327 mil ion International Monetary Fund loan
offer for addressing COVID-19, but the legislature has yet to approve the package. In April 2020, the
government issued a decree criminalizing “disinformation,” reportedly including criticism about its
response to COVID-19. In May 2020, police arrested Añez’s former health minister for a scandal
involving ventilator purchases at inflated prices. As of July 20, Bolivia had 2,151 deaths from the virus.
2020 Elections: Candidates
After the Bolivian Congress passed an election law in November 2019, legislators appointed a new
electoral tribunal. In January, that tribunal announced the first-round election would occur on May 3.
Following the suspension of the May 3 election, legislators selected September 6 as the new first-round
election date. Añez agreed to that date in late June, roughly a month before the tribunal postponed the date
to October. Due to COVID-19, observers are concerned about health risks for poll workers, candidates,
and voters; international observation teams are likely to be smal .

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Bolivia’s Presidential Candidates
Luis Arce: economist, former minister of the economy (2006-2019) who was general y praised by the International
Monetary Fund
Jeanette Añez: former senator and current interim president who abandoned an earlier pledge not to run
Luis Camacho: lawyer and Catholic civic leader from the eastern state of Santa Cruz who led nationwide protests urging
Morales’s resignation
Carlos Mesa: former journalist who served as president (2003-2005) and who has opposed the MAS but has more
moderate positions than Añez and Camacho

Source: Paola Nagovitch, “Explainer: Presidential Candidates in Bolivia’s 2020 Special Elections,” Americas
Society/Council of the Americas, February 6, 2020.
Although Arce leads some polls, a second round likely wil be needed. Should the anti-MAS candidates
unite, they could defeat Arce in a second-round scenario.
U.S. Concerns
The United States remains concerned about political volatility in Bolivia, but its role in supporting a
return to democracy may be limited due to tension in Bolivia-U.S. relations under Morales.
The State Department supported the OAS election observation and audit efforts. The United States and 25
other OAS countries issued a November statement rejecting violence and cal ing for new elections. A
December 9 statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also cal ed for convening new elections.
Following President Trump’s January 2020 decision to waive foreign aid restrictions on Bolivia, U.S.
support for electoral authorities and civil society groups has totaled some $3 mil ion. U.S. assistance to
help Bolivia address COVID-19 has totaled nearly $900,000.
The situation in Bolivia has generated some concern in Congress. S.Res. 447, agreed to in the Senate in
January 2020, supports the prompt convening of new elections. H.Rept. 116-444 accompanying H.R.
7608 would prohibit U.S. assistance appropriated in FY2021 from being used to impede free and fair
elections in Bolivia. A July 2020 Senate letter to the Administration expresses concerns regarding abuses
and civil liberties violations committed by the Añez government that could damage the electoral process.

Author Information

Clare Ribando Seelke

Specialist in Latin American Affairs




Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
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