Rightwing candidates are leading polls ahead of fragmented left amid Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in four decades.
Bolivians are heading to the polls in an election that could result in a shift to the right, potentially ending almost two decades of socialist rule by the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas).
The Mas party, which came into power with Evo Morales’ first election win in 2005, risks losing its legal status if it doesn’t reach the 3% threshold, which it has failed to hit in polls.
Two opposition candidates, the center-right business tycoon and former planning minister Samuel Doria Medina and the rightwing former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, are currently in a virtual tie in the polls.
President Luis Arce, facing immense unpopularity amid Bolivia’s severe economic crisis, has chosen not to run. In his place, he has nominated his 36-year-old Minister of Government, Eduardo del Castillo, who has been polling at around 2%, to run for president.
The election has also brought controversy, with former president Evo Morales facing an arrest warrant and calling for null votes, claiming that if these votes outnumber the leading candidate’s tally, it would imply his victory.
The election results are crucial for Bolivia, with the campaign focusing predominantly on the country’s dire economic situation, deemed the worst since the hyperinflation of 1985.
If no candidate secures the necessary majority, a second round will be held on October 19, which would be unprecedented in Bolivia’s history.
