MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian president and governors recall referendum August 10

Pte. Evo Morales

Bolivian President Evo Morales committed himself and the country's nine governors on Monday to face a recall referendum next August 10, gambling that his unfinished term and controversial reforms will survive the vote.

and controversial reforms will survive the vote. "Personally I have no fear of the people" said Morales. "Let the people judge us." "For the first time in Bolivian history, the people will not only have the right to choose but also to decide if the authorities are failing them," Mr Morales said. He called on the National Electoral Court to guarantee the transparency of the referendum and urged foreign election observer groups to help monitor the votes. The terms of President Morales and Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera formally expire in January 2011. Morales originally proposed the recall vote in December amid a fierce battle over his proposed draft constitution that would increase the political power of Bolivia's long-oppressed indigenous majority. Bolivia's Lower House dominated by his coalition approved it but the idea remained dormant until last week, when it was suddenly resurfaced by the opposition-controlled Senate. President Morales opponents figured he had been weakened by the landslide victory of the autonomy measure in Santa Cruz, Bolivia's largest and richest state and which was to be followed by similar votes in other dissident provinces next June. Morales immediately accepted his opponents' challenge in a nationally televised address, and signed the bill on Monday. The referendum requires removal from office if the officials get more "no" votes than the votes they won when they were elected in 2005. The percentage of "no" votes also must top the candidates' previous winning percentage. Morales won the presidency with 53.7% of the vote, a historic mandate in a country where presidents sometimes take office with half as much support. According to the recall rules if 54% vote against him in August â€" and the "no" votes top the 1.5 million ballots he won in 2005 â€" he'll be forced to call for a new presidential election. If either "no" count falls short â€" for example, if 1.6 million Bolivians vote against Morales but turnout is high enough to keep their votes below 53.7% â€" he'll remain in office. Bolivia's current governors, however, all won office with less than 50% of the vote with a much lower bar for their 'no' votes. The opposition governor of La Paz state, Jose Luis Paredes, won the pro-Morales stronghold with only 38% in 2005. If 39% of the state votes against him in the recall, he'll be removed from office â€" even if 61 percent vote to keep him. "It makes an unfair difference, and I'm the most affected," Paredes said. "But I also think it's a good way out of this impasse we find ourselves in. If I lose, I'm going home and President Morales will just have to choose a new governor." Should Morales lose, he must call a new presidential election to be held between three and six months. But any governor who loses will be immediately removed from office, with Morales naming an interim replacement until new state elections. The language of the referendum does not prohibit Morales or the governors from running again if recalled.