"As voters in Bolivia prepare to go to the polls for the final round of the country's presidential election, there is no left-wing candidate on the ballot for the first time in nearly two decades. Since the last election, the current governing party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), has suffered an implosion, with party leaders splintering off and attacking one another."
"The run-off vote will take place on October 19, with the winner of the election inaugurated on November 8. The final stage of the election is itself a sign of the shifting and unpredictable state of the country's politics. Rodrigo Paz, one of the two final candidates, was the surprise victor in the first round of voting despite registering less than 10 percent in early polling. He carried more than 32 percent of the votes in the August 17 general election."
Bolivia's long-dominant left suffered a historic defeat, with no left-wing candidate advancing to the runoff for the first time in nearly two decades. The Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) imploded, with leaders splintering and failing to advance a candidate, ending MAS's nearly uninterrupted rule since 2006. A centrist, Rodrigo Paz, and a right-wing former president, Jorge Tuto Quiroga, qualified for the October 19 runoff after winning roughly 32% and 27% in the first round. Neither met the threshold to win outright. A severe economic crisis and deep political divides threaten stability as the winner is inaugurated on November 8. Paz is a senator and the son of former President Jaime Zamora.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]