City
Epaper

Bolivia approves new elections without Evo Morales

By ANI | Updated: November 24, 2019 21:45 IST

The Bolivian Congress has unmously approved a bill that annulled the result of the country's presidential vote last month and allowed for new elections to be held without ousted President Evo Morales, who is currently under political asylum granted by Mexico.

Open in App

The Bolivian Congress has unmously approved a bill that annulled the result of the country's presidential vote last month and allowed for new elections to be held without ousted President Evo Morales, who is currently under political asylum granted by Mexico.

The legislation also forbids candidates from running if they have served in the last two terms, with politicians also agreeing to appoint a new electoral board, reported Al Jazeera.

Interim President Jene Anez, an opponent of Morales, is expected to sign the bill into law at 14:00 GMT on Sunday.

"I want to thank our parliamentarians for having understood and listened to the demands of the Bolivian people," Anez wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

"Tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. I will promulgate the "Law of exceptional and transitory Regime for the holding of General Elections" approved by the Legislative Assembly," she added further in the thread.

It is the latest development in Bolivia's weeks-long political crisis in the wake of the October 20 vote that has left more than 30 people dead amid opposition allegations of electoral fraud.

Amid the unrest, Morales stepped down on November 10 after an audit of the Orgzation of American States (OAS) cited irregularities in the count and the military called on him to quit to help restore calm.

Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president who had been in power for 13 years, fled to Mexico claiming he was the victim of a coup.

But politicians in his Movement to Socialism (MAS) party said they will find a new candidate to run for president in the next elections.

"We have already signed agreements on all the demands they [MAS] are making, and we agreed to those demands," Jerjes Justiniano, one of Anez's recently appointed ministers, told Al Jazeera.

( With inputs from ANI )

Tags: Evo MoralesBoliviaAl Jazeeramexico
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalMexico Mass Shooting: 12 Killed, 20 Injured During Religious Festival in Irapuato (Watch Video)

NationalPM Narendra Modi Gifts Warli Painting From Maharashtra to Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo

InternationalHurricane Erick Intensifies to Category 3, Threatens Southern Mexico with Torrential Rains and Damaging Winds

InternationalMexico Shocker: Mutilated Bodies of 9 Students On Vacation Found in Abandoned Car in San Jose Miahuatlan Highway

InternationalWhy Donald Trump Agreed to Halt Tariffs on Canada, Mexico for 30 Days

International Realted Stories

InternationalSCO defence ministers visit 2018 summit venue at Qingdao International Conference Centre

InternationalBangladesh: BNP puts conditional support to limit PM's tenure to 10 years

InternationalEAM Jaishankar greets Madagascar on 65th Independence Day, highlights MAHASAGAR vision

InternationalChina: Rajnath Singh holds talks with Russian Defence Minister in Qingdao

InternationalDefence Minister Rajnath Singh highlights terrorism's threat to world at SCO meeting in China