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On March 7, during the first election round, the MAS won in three out of nine Bolivia's departments, Oruro, Cochabamba, and Potosi. The opposition politician and former presidential candidate Fernando Camacho won the historically right-leaning Santa Cruz while the 'Third System Movement' party won Beni.
Bolivia has seen on Sunday a peaceful election day concerning biosecurity measures. Thus far, there have been no significant irregularities reported as people in the departments of La Paz, Tarija, Pando, and Chuquisaca decide on its representative. After a landslide victory of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) on March 7, the ruling party seeks to consolidate its power in some of Bolivia's most important regions.
teleSUR's correspondent in Bolivia, Freddy Morales, reports there have been no irregularities in La Paz but a low voter turnout in several polling stations.
On the other hand, after casting his vote at the Miguel de Cervantes Institute in La Paz, Bolivia's president Luis Arce rejected the participation of the Organization of American States (OAS) in today's elections, mainly after the role it played during the 2019 coup against Evo Morales.
"We will not attend any meeting where the OAS is present. We are not alone on the criticism to Almagro (OAS president)," Arce said.
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On March 7, the ruling party MAS won outright 240 seats, representing 71 percent of all municipalities in the departments mentioned above. Any candidate reached over 51 percent of the votes or 40 percent plus 10 points lead required to be considered a winner.
The MAS won in three out of nine Bolivia's departments, Oruro, Cochabamba, and Potosi. The opposition politician and former presidential candidate Fernando Camacho won the historically right-leaning Santa Cruz while the ‘Third System Movement’ party won Beni.
Nonetheless, Sunday's elections are marked by the contest between MAS candidates and some former members. The latter decided instead to lead a challenge lead by the far-right opposition, which has stripped itself following Luis Arce's victory last year and the recent prosecution of Jeanine Anez and ex-members of her de facto government.
In Chuquisaca, which holds the judicial capital Sucre, the MAS candidate Juan Carlos Leon will run against MAS's former member Damian Condori, whose current party endorsed Anez at the beginning of the presidential race in 2020.
Saludamos al @BOmereceMAS, la fuerza política más grande de #Bolivia, en el 26 aniversario de su fundación. Aplaudimos el valor de las organizaciones que resistieron el Golpe de Estado de 2019 y recuperaron la democracia en 2020, ganando elecciones con 55% de votos. ¡Felicidades! pic.twitter.com/G4NbPYTThV
— Luis Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) March 27, 2021
La Paz will choose between Indigenous Aymara leader and MAS candidate Franklin Flores and Santos Quispe, of "Jallalla La Paz," a doctor and teacher betting on the political legacy and prestige of his late father as social movements representative.
In Tarija, the MAS candidate Alvaro Ruiz will contest against Oscar Montes of the right-wing "Unidos" party.
Finally, in Pando, the MAS candidate Miguel Becerra will challenge Regis Richter from the Third System Movement (MTS) political organization.
During March 7 elections, the MAS, although it did not reach a majority in these Departments, took the lead in La Paz, Tarija, and Pando. Today, the specialist highlights, will be MAS's opportunity to win over Bolivia's most important cities and transcend its regional influence beyond rural areas.
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