MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian president will resign if elections are postponed

Bolivian caretaker President Eduardo Rodriguez threatened to resign if the general elections scheduled for December 4 should be postponed because Congress cannot agree on the redrawing of the country's electoral district map.

"If the Electoral Court decides that it's impossible to hold the elections next December, I will immediately return to my office as president of the Supreme Court", warned Mr. Rodriguez during a surprise national address repeated over the weekend.

Next October 15 is de deadline for Congress to agree on the redistribution of the number of seats for each of the country's regions following a recent ruling from the Constitutional Court.

Caretaker president Rodriguez took office last June 9, following Carlos Mesa's resignation, and a political understanding which made the heads of the Senate and Lower House move aside and accept the third line for the presidential seat, that is Supreme Court president.

"My appointment clearly established the task and time period for the orderly transfer of power to a newly elected president: that period ends 180 days from the very day I was sworn in" recalled President Rodriguez adding that "I have a specific mandate to fulfil, to convene elections to legitimize elected officials at the polls and guarantee an impartial electoral process".

He added that if December elections are postponed "the constitution's mandate, the people's trust and my designation would not be fulfilled", and in that emergency, "which I hope does not occur, my duty as a man of law is to return to the Supreme Court", he emphasized. Mr. Rodriguez revealed that he had informed Congress by writing of his decision.

Bolivia's Lower House is currently discussing a redistribution of Congressional seats following on the results of the 2001 census. The rich provinces of Santa Cruz and Cochabamba are set to win seats in the new electoral map, while La Paz, Oruro and Potosi would lose representatives.

If this happens the presidential candidate who's ahead in the opinion polls, Indian leader Evo Morales would see his legislative support weaken and could represent a fatal blow for his aspirations since the election run off, according to Bolivia's Constitution, is decided in Congress.

Since none of the hopefuls has a clear majority it's almost certain Congress will nominate Bolivia's next president, and it's not the first time a congressional coalition thwarts the most voted candidate.

In this particular case Bolivia's rich provinces favour greater regional autonomy, mainly fiscal, and support private participation in the country's promising hydrocarbons industry. Mr. Morales and the poor provinces want centralization to remain and are lobbying strongly for outright nationalization of all mineral resources.

Actually the oil and gas controversy has had Bolivia in permanent political turmoil and social unrest, besides ousting two presidents.