WASHINGTON, USA – The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Bolivia, headed by the former Counselor of the then-Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico, Rodrigo Alfonso Morales Manzanares, salutes the Bolivian people for the high participation registered in the Election of Departmental, Regional and Municipal Political Authorities, held on March 7.
The Mission’s preliminary report is available here.
The Mission also recognizes the civic behavior of Bolivians during election day. However, it was made aware of public order incidents in the departments of Santa Cruz and Pando. The Mission regrets the acts of violence and calls on political actors and citizens to maintain the climate of peace in which the elections took place, and to continue to calmly await the official results.
For the first time, the official computing processes are being transmitted by platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, which has allowed citizens to follow this stage of the process without interruption. The Mission congratulates the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) and the Departmental Electoral Courts (TED) for the adoption of this type of measures that promote transparency and access to information, and contribute to trust in the work of the electoral authorities. Likewise, it recognizes the work of said authorities for having organized two elections in a few months amid the complex scenario of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Mission was made up of 16 observers of 8 nationalities, who met with electoral authorities, candidates, political parties, academics, and members of civil society virtually and in person to learn about their perspectives on the elections. The information collected in these meetings, as well as what was observed during election day, is part of the preliminary report.
If the need for a second round is confirmed in any of the nine departments, the Mission will return to the country to follow up on these elections scheduled for April 11.
Finally, the Mission thanks the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for the invitation to observe these elections and for the collaboration provided, as well as the financial contributions of Brazil, Chile, South Korea, the United States, France, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Sweden, which made this deployment possible.