BOLIVIA: Polls open in Bolivia in a closely-watched election where the presidential frontrunner is indigenous leader and coca grower Evo Morales.

Record ID: 690986

  • Title: BOLIVIA: Polls open in Bolivia in a closely-watched election where the presidential frontrunner is indigenous leader and coca grower Evo Morales.
  • Date: 18th December 2005
  • Summary: (W3) LA PAZ, BOLIVIA (DECEMBER 18, 2005) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF ELECTORAL WAREHOUSE IN WHICH BALLOTS AND ELECTORAL MATERIAL ARE STORED WORKERS PREPARING BALLOT BOXES BEFORE THEY ARE SHIPPED OUT WORKERS TAPING UP BALLOT BOXES ELECTORAL WORKERS PREPARING ELECTION MATERIAL
  • Embargoed: 2nd January 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA50FC770T9YYR14X4Z3D44O7TH
  • Story Text: Polls opened in Bolivia on Sunday (December 18) in an election which may give this Andean nation its first Indian president, a lawmaker and coca-leaf farm leader who calls his leftist movement "a nightmare for the U.S."
    Presidential front-runner Evo Morales cast his vote from his support base of El Chapare.
    In the capital city of La Paz, election workers readied ballots, boxes, and fingerprinting material as the first polling places opened.
    Fifty thousand police and soldiers are guarding polling stations, and 200 foreign observers will monitor voting to make sure election law is followed.
    Evo Morales, an admirer of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, is expected to take the most votes, 34 percent, in the closely-watched election. Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, seen taking second place with about 29 percent of votes, promises to keep Bolivia on a free-market course and support U.S. coca eradication policies.
    Under Bolivian law, congress, which will also be renewed in Sunday's election, will choose the new president on January 9 if no one takes more than 50 percent of the vote.
    Massive street protests in Bolivia have forced out two presidents in the last three years and the country is split between the conflicting demands of the disenfranchised Indian majority and the ruling European-descended elite.
    Interim President Eduardo Rodriguez spoke before the National Electoral Council and reiterated his support for the body.
    "We are starting this very important process and I would like to express my gratitude and hope, my gratitude to the electoral council because once again they have demonstrated with their responsible work their capacity to organize this electoral process."
    If Congress upholds the outcome, Morales will join a new generation of leftists in power in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
    Washington considers Morales an enemy in its anti-drug fight in Bolivia, the third biggest cocaine-producing nation after Colombia and Peru. He wants to legalize coca-leaf growing for traditional uses such as tea, and pledges to nationalize the country's rich natural gas resources, which he says is the best way to develop South America's poorest country.
    Voting is obligatory for Bolivian adults, who need the electoral card given at the polling station for banking and government paperwork.
    Up to 20 percent of voters were undecided or planned to cast blank ballots, according to the most recent polls.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register