Bolivia: Leftist Candidate Luis Arce Goes to the Polls to Cast His Vote

Bolivia's Movement to Socialism (MAS) candidate for president Luis Arce Sunday cast his vote at the Colegio Cervantes polling station in the Miraflores region, La Paz Department.

RELATED:

General Elections Kick Off in Bolivia

"We hope that the whole process will be peaceful," Arce declared In at a press conference outside the polling station.

During the event, he expressed his surprise at the decision of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to annul the system of diffusion of the preliminary results (Direpre).

The TSE made this announcement a day before elections because of flaws in the security system during the tests and simulations of the last few days. 

"We do not take power by armed conflict, but by the electoral process," said the first candidate for Bolivia's Presidency to cast his vote in this Election Day.

The electoral colleges opened at 8h00 local time in Bolivia, where over 7.3 million people will elect the country's highest authorities.

"We bet on the democratic way," Arce, who is the favorite candidate for president according to national polls, assured before leaving the station.

This is the second general election in the South American nation in less than a year. In 2019, the Organization of American States (OAS) prompted a coup d'état against former President Evo Morales.