- Title: Morales election win splits Bolivia
- Date: 26th October 2019
- Summary: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (OCTOBER 25, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR, BOLIVIA'S SUPREME ELECTORAL COURT MEMBERS OF SUPREME ELECTORAL COURT ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA'S SUPREME ELECTORAL COURT, MARIA EUGENIA CHOQUE, SAYING: "At 100% (tally) of what this whole process of the general elections have entailed, Citizen Community (opposition party) has 36.51%" MEMBERS OF SUPREME ELECTORAL COURT AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT OF BOLIVIA'S SUPREME ELECTORAL COURT, MARIA EUGENIA CHOQUE, SAYING: "MAS-IPSP (President Morales' party) 47,08%" POLICE AT COURT ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SUPREME ELECTORAL COURT SPOKESPERSON, IDELFONSO MAMANI, SAYING: "Our electoral system in Bolivia is absolutely transparent." VARIOUS, PROTESTERS WAVING BOLIVIAN FLAGS OUTSIDE SUPREME ELECTORAL COURT VARIOUS, POLICE IN RIOT GEAR MEDICAL SECTOR WORKERS PROTESTING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BOLIVIAN DOCTOR, DR. FERNANDO SILVA, SAYING: "(We're going to continue protesting) until this government steps down. Because this is now too much. The fraud is very clear. We as a university are not going to allow it." VARIOUS, PROTESTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BOLIVIAN PROTESTER, LUZ TORRES, SAYING: "The result is fraudulent. It's fraudulent because we estimate that it could have gone to a second round, but it hasn't been possible. That's why we have our doubts that the elections were not really transparent." PROTESTERS MARCHING
- Embargoed: 9th November 2019 00:21
- Keywords: controversy Bolivia presidential audit election Bolivian President Evo Morales electoral board protests Supreme Electoral Court Carlos Mesa
- Location: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
- City: LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
- Country: Bolivia
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2QG6RR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Court on Friday (October 25) announced the official count of a controversial election showing President Evo Morales with an over 10-point lead over rival Carlos Mesa, which means Morales would avoid a risky second round head-to-head.
Meanwhile, outside the court, protesters blocked streets demanding an audit of the election count, which would hand Morales an outright win and with it a fourth consecutive term that would extend his rule to nearly two decades.
Anti-government protests had begun on Sunday, when an official vote count was suspended for almost a day. A confident Morales said then his socialist party MAS would get an outright win, despite an official rapid count data showing the left-wing leader heading to a second round against Mesa.
The official election observer, the Organization of American States, has already called for a second round despite Morales' 10-point win, while the United States, European Union, Brazil and others adding their voice.
In the region, left-leaning governments in Mexico and Venezuela have backed Morales, a former union leader for coca farmers who has overseen steady growth and relative stability in one of South America's poorest countries.
(Production: Monica Machicao, Santiago Limachi, Herbert Villarraga, Sergio Limachi) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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