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Coup Leaders Postpone Elections in Bolivia Again
Post on: July 25, 2020 Elio Aduviri
. . .
On Thursday, Bolivia’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) approved the postponement of the general elections for the fourth time; this time bringing them to October 18. The TSE resolution circumvented the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (PLA; the national assembly of Bolivia). Peasant unions and federations, as well as the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), declared an emergency and announced mobilizations. The decision to postpone the elections was welcomed by the United Nations and by all competing political parties except the MAS, the party headed by Evo Morales.
At the press conference announcing this decision, Salvador Romero, the president of the TSE, claimed that setting a new date is a power of the electoral body and not the PLA. Similarly, weeks ago they proceeded with the promotion by decree of the military coup perpetrators, ignoring the powers of the Senate. It would seem that the government of Jeanine Áñez and the TSE have decided to proceed as if there were no parliament; without dissolving it but taking away all its power.
This announcement was approved by all political forces on the coup spectrum, including the moderate right wing led by Carlos Mesa, the presidential candidate for Comunidad Ciudadana, a centrist political coalition. In addition to this show of support, the United Nations has issued a statement asking political and social actors to respect the decision to postpone the elections.
In the coming days, the TSE will have to consider the requests for the ban of MAS. This possible ban is due to the fact that Luis Arce Catacora, MAS candidate for president and former Minister of Economy, has presented the results of non-authorized polls in news programs, which can be sanctioned by law with a ban. This law, applied by the MAS to ban right-wing candidates in 2014, is now being used against them. Members of Evo Morales’ party preventatively presented two actions of unconstitutionality of the law to avoid the possible proscription.
If the ban of MAS is confirmed, Bolivia would experience elections in which the party which would receive the most votes would not be able to participate, in a type of coup d’état and political persecution.
More:
https://www.leftvoice.org/coup-leaders-postpone-elections-in-bolivia-again
