[News]Bolivia votes without incident, under the eyes of the Army

[SougarLord]

 

Since 8 in the morning, Bolivians have cast their votes in the different electoral precincts divided into two groups - according to their identity document number - in compliance with biosecurity measures.

 

For the first time, security has been strengthened when holding elections, with the participation of members of the Armed Forces. In previous elections, order was only safeguarded with the presence of the Bolivian Police. This fact provoked discomfort both among the candidates and among the po[CENSORED]tion, considering the measure excessive, taken before the warnings of national and international organizations about possible disturbances announced mainly by supporters of Evo Morales' party, Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS).

 

In recent days, some groups announced their intention to carry out demonstrations, but at this time no action had been registered, according to information provided by a spokesman for the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

 

At 6 in the afternoon (midnight in Spain) the closing of the polling stations is scheduled to begin the official vote count that will be announced in the coming days.

 

Controversial decision

The decision of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to suspend the quick count today divided the opinion of politicians and international observers. Six months ago, the Court announced the use of the Preliminary Results Dissemination system (Direpre) to reinforce the transparency of the electoral process on the day of the elections, before the official results. Surprisingly, a few hours after the elections, the TSE announced that it would not be used.

The MAS candidate, Luis Arce, commented on his doubts about this decision: «With one day left before they make this decision (…) it seems not very wise, they (TSE) are the owners of the election, and what can happen is that this can raise doubts. For his part, the candidate of the Citizen Community (CC), Carlos Mesa, second favorite for the presidential position, regretted the decision, considering that it was not an "ideal" measure, although he believed that it could guarantee the official vote count, recalling the events recorded in the last elections of October 20, 2019: "If we think coldly about it, what we are going to have is the minute-by-minute count that each of us will be able to access them, so patience and security."

 

The delegations of international observers also issued a joint statement supporting the determination of the Electoral Tribunal