Sat 24 October 2020:
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced on Friday, Arce won 55 percent of the votes against six rivals on the ballot, easily avoiding the need for a run-off, and providing vindication for the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party of former President Evo Morales who was ousted last year and now lives in exile.
“We won’t let down the trust that people have placed in us.”
Salvador Romero, the head of Bolivia’s electoral authority, said in a press conference late on Friday that there had been a huge turn-out despite COVID-19.
“With 88 percent participation, Bolivians set the second highest record in our history and one of the highest in Latin America in the 21st century,” he told reporters.
Heads of state in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, began congratulating Arce before results were official.
Other regional leaders sent congratulations to Arce earlier this week, as exit polls suggested he had a strong enough lead to claim victory.
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said Monday the MAS victory was “not only good news for those who defend democracy in Latin America; it is also an act of justice in the face of the aggression suffered by the Bolivian people.”
Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez said he contacted Arce.
“I contacted president-elect of Bolivia Luis Arce to congratulate him on his democratic triumph. We agreed to continue promoting strong bilateral relations between Paraguay and Bolivia and regional integration,” he said.
After learning of unofficial results, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel also welcomed the results of exit polls and emphasized that the Bolivian people had defeated the “coup d’ etat” against Morales in November 2019, following a report by the Organization of American States (OAS) that said the election was rigged.
The regional bloc never provided proof of the allegations.
