MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

OAS Observation Mission calls for respect of the Bolivian people's vote

OAS urges the electoral authority to firmly defend the will of the Bolivian citizenry in strict adherence with the Constitution and its complementary laws

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Bolivia calls for respect for the will of the citizenry:

This electoral process has taken place in very complex conditions. During this electoral observation, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission has witnessed the obvious inequality between the candidates. The use of public resources during the campaign has been evident.

Despite these conditions, citizens participated in great numbers in a peaceful, and orderly manner on Sunday, October 20. It is essential that the will of the citizens be fully respected, honoring the values contained in the Inter-American Democratic Charter of the OAS.

The OAS Mission expresses its deep concern and surprise at the drastic and hard-to-explain change in the trend of the preliminary results revealed after the closing of the polls.

At 19:40 on Sunday, October 20, the TSE disseminated the results of the TREP. These figures clearly indicated a second round, a trend that coincided with the only authorized quick count and the statistical exercise of the Mission. Our information was shared today with the TSE and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At 20:10, the TSE stopped disclosing preliminary results, by decision of the plenary, with more than 80% of the votes counted. 24 hours later, the TSE presented data with an inexplicable change in trend that drastically modifies the fate of the election and generates a loss of confidence in the electoral process.

At an appropriate time, the Mission will issue a report with recommendations ahead of a second round.

We urge the electoral authority to firmly defend the will of the Bolivian citizenry in strict adherence with the Constitution and its complementary laws in an agile and transparent manner.

It is extremely important that calm is maintained and any form of violence is avoided in this delicate situation, so that departmental calculations are carried out normally and without interruptions and with guarantees for our observers and the electoral staff.

We hope that the result of the final calculation will adhere to the will of the voters expressed at the polls.