Bolivia Congress approves new elections excluding Preceded president

0
998
Bolivia Congress approves new elections excluding Preceded president
Bolivia Congress approves new elections excluding Preceded president :File Photo

Bolivia Congress has excluded Evo Morales who claims to have been a victim of a coup after losing the support of the security forces.

The caretaker government met with protesters to end weeks of unrest.

The move seeks to quell weeks of unrest that left dozens of people dead amid major political crisis.

At least 32 people have been killed in violence that erupted after a disputed election on October 20, with protesters‘ blockades causing severe fuel and food shortages in La Paz and other cities.

Both chambers of Bolivia’s Congress have unanimously approved a bill that annuls the result of the country’s presidential vote last month and allows for new elections to be held without former president Evo Morales.

Read More: Trump impeachment hearings starts with testimony

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

Interim President Jeanine 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 10:00am I will promulgate the Law of exceptional and transitory Regime for the holding of General Elections” approved by the Legislative Assembly.

Read More: Former President of Andalusia gets six years jail

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 Organization 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.

Read More: Jail guards charged with falsifying records

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

Bolivia Congress has approved a bill that opens the door to new elections by excluding ex-president Evo Morales.