- Title: Bolivia's Morales rallies voters for fourth term as president
- Date: 17th October 2019
- Summary: EL ALTO, BOLIVIA (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) SUPPORTERS OF PRESIDENT EVO MORALES GATHERED FOR RALLY INDIGENOUS WOMAN AT RALLY
- Embargoed: 31st October 2019 03:43
- Keywords: President Evo Morales campaign election El Alto Bolivia
- Location: EL ALTO, BOLIVIA
- City: EL ALTO, BOLIVIA
- Country: Bolivia
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001B1HINGN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: President Evo Morales rallied thousands of supporters in El Alto, Bolivia on Wednesday (October 16) in a final push for a four term in office.
Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, has won all three terms in crowded first-round elections, with more than 60% in the two most recent votes during a period of rapid economic growth in the landlocked country.
While Morales is popular in rural areas neglected by previous governments, his support has slipped in cities where government abuse is a bigger concern.
He is under fire for seeking another term in defiance of constitutional term limits and a national referendum that voted against him being able to do so.
But speaking to supporters at his final rally ahead of the election, Morales denounced neoliberals and the country's economic conservatives in his final speech to supporters on the campaign trail.
Morales is likely to win the first round on Oct. 20, according to a poll from the Universidad Mayor de San Andres (UMSA) and other academic and civil organisations.
However, the margin over the second place candidate, Carlos Mesa, would be sufficiently narrow to warrant a second round head-to-head. Mesa, who leads the Citizen Community alliance, is predicted to get around 27% of the first-round vote.
If Morales does not win 40% of votes with a 10-point lead over the runner-up, likely Mesa, the two will face off in a second round head-to-head on Dec. 15.
(Production: Herbert Villarraga, Monica Machicao, Sergio Limachi) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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