The former president urged Bolivians to cast null votes in today’s elections.

On Sunday, former Bolivian President Evo Morales said he does not support any candidate and has no agreement with any political party for the day’s election.

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He went to cast his vote in Villa 14, in the Chapare region of Cochabamba — his political and union stronghold — carrying a marker in hand to “vote null.”

A group of his supporters formed a passageway for him to enter a hall where he hosts his Sunday program on Kawsachun Coca Radio, placing a necklace made of coca leaves around his neck.

“Until two weeks ago there were possibilities. However, there was intimidation, threats, and persecution,” Morales said regarding alleged talks with other political groups to put him forward as a candidate.

The former president also called on Bolivians to cast null votes, saying that without his name on the presidential ballot there is no candidate “who represents the people” of Bolivia.

Evo Morales’ text reads, “Perennial losers like Tuto, Doria Medina, and Manfred have never won a national election. Tuto ran in 2005 and 2014, finishing second and third; in 2020, he withdrew because he didn’t even reach 3% of the vote. Doria Medina tried to become vice president in 1997 and lost. He also lost as a presidential candidate in 2005, 2009, and 2014. In 2020, he had to withdraw as Jeanine Áñez’s vice presidential candidate. Manfred lost in 2002 and 2009, then fled to the U.S. for more than ten years. If it weren’t for his ally Luis Arce, who stole our acronym and banned the country’s largest political movement, we would have won these elections by a landslide! The spoiled vote expresses our rejection of rigged elections.”

On Saturday, Interior Minister Roberto Rios said Morales supporters want to “cause unrest and obstruct the electoral process”, urging people “not to be swayed by those attempts to create chaos.”

Since October 2024, Morales has remained in Cochabamba’s Chapare region, surrounded by hundreds of supporters seeking to prevent the execution of an arrest warrant against him in a case of alleged human trafficking.

Morales resigned his membership in the ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) after losing the party’s leadership following nearly 30 years at its helm. Although a constitutional disqualification kept him out of the race, he attempted to register with a party that lacked legal status before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

Currently, 7,567,207 Bolivians are eligible to elect the president, vice president, and legislators, while another 369,308 citizens will be able to vote abroad. The 2025 elections are taking place amid a severe economic crisis marked by a shortage of U.S. dollars, fuel scarcity, and the worst inflation in decades.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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