MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian Government and opposition celebrate Sunday’s provincial voting

Evo Morales confirmed his hegemony but admitted he expected to have won in more cities

Bolivian president Evo Morales claimed victory in the regional elections of this Sunday, because according to the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), ‘now he controls six of the nine governors and three mayors of the ten largest in the country“.

The official results will take about 10 days to be processed and according to preliminary data Evo’s opponents also celebrated because “Morales couldn’t manage the traditionally opposing regions”.

According to the media, ‘the president controls at least five of the nine governors of Bolivia, but the opposition would have won in Santa Cruz, Beni and Tarija, three bastions of autonomy movements.”

And they added that “However, the percentage difference between the two are so close that the final victorious and defeated ones will have to be assured by the National Electoral Court”.

The region that was still in doubt on Monday morning was Pando, which showed a tie between the president and the opposition, but the president also claimed himself as victorious in this region.

According to preliminary data, “the MAS had also lost most of the mayors of the country’s capital cities, including those of La Paz and Santa Cruz.”

“In La Paz the ‘Movimiento Sin Miedo (MSM)’ won, a party that was an ally of Morales and then became from the opposition”.

The data was taken from the television networks ATB, PAT and Unitel, which broadcasted the results of the quick count.

The President of the National Electoral Court, Antonio Costas, reported that “the final data will be processed within 10 days.”

Opponents launched massive celebrations in Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and even in La Paz, where, until recently, Morales used to concentrate large numbers of people to cast his victory speeches.

Evo Morales congratulated all the winners and made some comparisons to explain the results. But he admitted that “I’ve expected to win more municipalities than we did”, and acknowledged the results and said that “His party progressed compared to the municipal elections of five years ago.”

The people that were gathered in the central plaza of Santa Cruz shouted “autonomy, autonomy”, recalling the rebellious attitude of not so long ago.