Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivia’s presidential runoff!
La Paz, Oct 19 (EFE).-
Centrist opposition lawmaker Rodrigo Paz Pereira won Bolivia’s presidential runoff Sunday with 54.57 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results released by the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) with more than 97 percent of ballots counted.
Paz defeated conservative former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga (2001–2002), who garnered 45.43 percent, the TSE’s Preliminary Results Transmission System (Sirepre) reported late Sunday with 97.68 percent of tally sheets processed.
Valid votes accounted for 94.56 percent, blank ballots for 0.75 percent, and null votes for 4.69 percent, according to the preliminary figures, which are not yet official. However, TSE president Óscar Hassenteufel said the results reflected “a trend that appears to be irreversible.”
Voter turnout was estimated between 85 percent and 89 percent, Hassenteufel added, noting that the figure would be confirmed once the final count is completed.
He praised the performance of the Sirepre system, saying it had “once again fulfilled its function effectively,” and described the voting day as “peaceful,” with no major incidents and full access for citizens to exercise their right to vote.
Paz and Quiroga were the two top candidates in the Aug. 17 general election, which also renewed the National Assembly for the next five years. Neither candidate obtained the majority required to win outright in the first round, leading to Bolivia’s first-ever presidential runoff since the 2009 Constitution established the two-round system.
Paz ran with former police officer Edman Lara under the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) banner, while Quiroga led the Libre alliance with tech entrepreneur Juan Pablo Velasco as his running mate.
Paz is set to be sworn in as Bolivia’s next president on November 8, marking the end of two decades of rule by the leftist Movement for Socialism (MAS) party. EFE
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