Bolivian General Election (October 12, 2014)

[Velasco]

I haven't seen a thread for the elections in the true Bolivarian republic (literally, the country is named after Simón Bolívar), which date is highly symbolic since it will be held on the anniversary of Columbus' landing in Hispaniola island (currently divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Such date is commemorated in Spain (Día de la Hispanidad, public holiday) and in Latin America under various names such as 'Day of the Race', 'Day of the Americas', 'Day of Respect for the Cultural Diversity' (Argentina) or 'Day of the Indigenous Resistance' (Venezuela). In Bolivia is called 'Day of the Decolonization' since 2011. Also, there is a 'Columbus Day' in the USA.

The Supreme Electoral Court of Bolivia (TSE) called on May 1st for a General Election which will be held on Sunday October 12, 2014. Bolivian voters will elect President, Vicepresident, 130 members of the Chamber of Deputies and 36 members of the Senate. The constitutional five year term of President Evo Morales, who seeks for a second reelection in order to complete the 'process of change' he started in 2006, expires in December 2014. If no candidate for president gets a majority, a runoff would be scheduled on December 7. Such ballotage system is a novelty in Bolivia. Previously, the president was picked in the Parliament among the most voted candidates, by agreements between parties based on power quotas in the governmental administration. However, Evo Morales has no serious challengers and is predicted to win in the first round.

Candidates.

Evo Morales, Movement for Socialism (MAS)

Samuel Doria Medina, National Unity Front (FUN)

Juan del Granado, Without Fear Movement (MSM)

Jorge Quiroga, Christian Democratic Party (PDC)

Fernando Vargas, Green Party (PVB).

Information will be eventually extended in following dates. Any contribution from someone knowledgeable on any question related with politics in Bolivia would be gratefully welcomed (Sir John?).

[politicus]

The presidential election looks like a cakewalk for Evo Morales. The latest poll from UNITEL released 15/9 shows he has a 40 point lead over rightwinger Samuel Doria and can get a first round victory.

Evo Morales (MAS) 54%
Samuel Doria (FUN) 14%
Jorge Quiroga (PDC) 7%

The poll samples 2,410 adults in 101 urban and rural communities across Bolivia with a 1.99 percent margin of error.

http://www.telesurtv.net/news/Evo-Morales-favorito-para-ganar-las-elecciones-en-Bolivia--20140915-0068.html

The Union of South American Nations (Unasur) intends to send forty observers to Bolivia to witness the electoral process.

[platypeanArchcow]

Morales is generally popular first of all for symbolically uplifting the indigenous majority, but of course that's not enough and what's really helping him is the massive mineral boom that Bolivia is undergoing.  This boom has funded a huge number of infrastructure projects: new highways, new bus stations, several aerial tramway lines in La Paz which just opened this year.  The new shiny infrastructure was the most visible to me when I was there as a tourist, but I'm sure money has gone to other stuff that benefits people as well, and to lining officials' pockets.  The altiplano tends to support Evo, while the second-largest city of Santa Cruz in the eastern lowlands, which is the main oil-producer and therefore opposes redistribution of wealth, supports the right.

[Velasco]

Oh my God, I forgot this. Thanks, politicus (and Platypus).

That poll is similar to another released in August which got Morales 56% and Doria 17%. The true battle seems to be in the senatorial election, because Morales would need a 2/3 majority to reform the Bolivian constitution in order to allow his indefinite reelection. The opposition is weak, fragmented and is running short of funds. The Synod of Bolivian bishops accused the government of mixing public management with electoral propaganda, as well the disproportion between Morales and the rest of candidates in media coverage and funding. Minister of Communication Amanda Dávila rebutted, stating that the Bolivian Church is launching, once again, "a dirty war against the government". Samuel Doria, a wealthy businessmen who is Evo Morales' main rival, claims that this election is rigged because the electoral authority is not neutral, according to Andrés Oppenheimer in the Argentinian newspaper La Nación. Some opposition senator accuses the MAS of having spent 1.5 million dollars in proselitist campaigns, despite it's prohibited by the Electoral Court. In any case, the MAS has financial aid from the coca producers* from Las Yungas de La Paz and el Chapare de Cochabamba. They are unconditional supporters of Evo Morales, who is cocalero as well. MAS public officials give voluntarily part of their salaries for the party and the electoral campaign. The opposition candidate has a base of support in the anti-Morales departments of Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Beni and Tarija. The candidate of the Green Party, the indigenous Francisco Vargas, has virtually no funds and his sympathizers are working hard in order to collect some; for example, selling chicken and avocado sandwiches in the streets of Cochabamba.

*To prevent confusions, coca production in Bolivia has no relation with narco trafficking, but with  the traditional consumption of coca leaves in the Andean countries. The coca leaf is used as well with medicinal purposes.

[pendragon]

*To prevent confusions, coca production in Bolivia has no relation with narco trafficking, but with  the traditional consumption of coca leaves in the Andean countries. The coca leaf is used as well with medicinal purposes.

Yeah, and have you ever been to one of Meyer Lansky's casinos? They have nothing to do with the mob! (Neither do Steve Wynn's).

No need to be mendacious.

[jaichind]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex8liAPhk3I

OUR BRAND IS CRISIS is a good movie on the 2002 Bolivian elections.   Evo ran that year too but lost by a small margin.

[jaichind]

It will not surprise me if Evo goes about 70% this time.

[Velasco]

Yeah, and have you ever been to one of Meyer Lansky's casinos? They have nothing to do with the mob! (Neither do Steve Wynn's).

No need to be mendacious.

I don't get your comparison with Meyer Lanski and those casinos in Massachussets. If you want to argue something even remotely on topic -see, with actual connection with Bolivan issues- go ahead.

[politicus]

Oh my God, I forgot this. Thanks, politicus (and Platypus).

No problem, I was searching for threads on upcoming elections we should cover and found this. Uruguay is actually missing, but I assume Pepperkorn will make it, otherwise maybe you could do it?

(I will try to focus on Mozambique and Lebanon + possibly do Tonga just because its politics is so quaint).

[politicus]

Yeah, and have you ever been to one of Meyer Lansky's casinos? They have nothing to do with the mob! (Neither do Steve Wynn's).

No need to be mendacious.

I don't get your comparison with Meyer Lanski and those casinos in Massachussets. If you want to argue something even remotely on topic -see, with actual connection with Bolivian issues- go ahead.

Well, of course, I agree! Mr. Lansky's casinos were financed entirely by transparent and prudent investments from the Teamsters Pension Fund. Would you call Jimmy Hoffa a criminal?

I have also heard that most California medical marijuana cards have been issued to grandmothers with terminal cancer.

Yup, Kennedy won Illinois, fair and square!

Has O.J. found the real killer yet?

Did you know that poppy farmers in northern Thailand use their crops mainly to produce the medicinal poppy-seed tea that is traditionally consumed in the region?

One thing I can say for sure: Elvis didn't do none of that pure Bolivian white that doesn't exist.

Take the adolescent irony crap elsewhere, this is a serious board.

[Velasco]

Oh, I'm sorry, I was unaware that we were only allowed to make super-serious statements about how there couldn't possibly be any group of people further removed from the cocaine supply chain than Bolivian coca farmers.

If you want to be taken seriously, please focus on topic and let your 'ironic' comments behind. You could start by Wikipedia, as most people do, to get some context:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca_in_Bolivia

You must be logged in to read this quote.

That is the official intent and those producers from the traditional cultivation areas are among the main supporters of Morales. I made a mistake in my previous hasty comment in not clarifying that is not the whole coca production, but only the legal production the one which has no relation with illegal markets. In any case, it would be very naive implying that there are not illegal crops, given how lucrative is trafficking with cocaine paste. The consumption of the coca leaf inside Bolivia is a totally different question. Apologies if needed but, again, focus on topic.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The UN document cited is dated in June 2010 and says that the Bolivian government must continue in the efforts to reduce the size of coca crops to the necessary quantity for the traditional consumption.

http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Bolivia/BOLIVIA-COCA-SURVEY-2010-ES-WEB.pdf

[Zanas]

Yeah, and have you ever been to one of Meyer Lansky's casinos? They have nothing to do with the mob! (Neither do Steve Wynn's).

No need to be mendacious.

I don't get your comparison with Meyer Lanski and those casinos in Massachussets. If you want to argue something even remotely on topic -see, with actual connection with Bolivan issues- go ahead.

Well, of course, I agree! Mr. Lansky's casinos were financed entirely by transparent and prudent investments from the Teamsters Pension Fund. Would you call Jimmy Hoffa a criminal?

I have also heard that most California medical marijuana cards have been issued to grandmothers with terminal cancer.

Yup, Kennedy won Illinois, fair and square!

Has O.J. found the real killer yet?

Did you know that poppy farmers in northern Thailand use their crops mainly to produce the medicinal poppy-seed tea that is traditionally consumed in the region?

One thing I can say for sure: Elvis didn't do none of that pure Bolivian white that doesn't exist.

You win a free "ignore". Congrats!

[Velasco]

As of June 2014 the UN monitoring of illegal crops reported a 26% decrease in the surface of coca cultivation for the period 2010-2013. There were 23,000 Ha cultivated in 2013, a 9% decrease in comparison with the 25,300 Ha in 2010.

http://cd1.eju.tv/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Bolivia_coca_survey_2014_web.pdf

[Velasco]

President Evo Morales (MAS) states that "winning elections is quite simple" in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País. The good progress of the economy and social stability in recent years augur well for his reelection. The last Ipsos poll predicts a Morales landslide victory with 59% of the vote, with opposition candidates trailing at great distance. Cement businessmen Samuel Doria (FUN) gets 13% in the Ipsos poll, whereas former president Tuto Quiroga (PDC) gets 8%. Morales seeks for a second reelection, allowed by an amendment passed last year. Evo Morales states that he will respect the Constitution and won't seek for additional terms. Vice President Álvaro García Linera has been insisting that Movement for Socialism (MAS) doesn't consider further constitutional changes.

Morales states that the good social and economic situation in Bolivia is the result of a gradual "process" and "a long fight against domestic and international colonialism, against the neoliberal model". "We are transitioning from an economy based on raw materials to an industrial economy", Morales assures. Asked on the good results that polls promise for his ticket in opposition departments such as Santa Cruz, Morales says they have demonstrated that former coca leaf trade unionists know how to govern. Questioned on some opinions which consider his left-wing rhetoric hides capitalist policies, Morales argue that his administration has reduced the poverty rate from 38% to 18% and unemployment from 8% to 3%. Apparently, praises from IMF and the World Bank provoke some mistrust in Morales, "those countries where the IMF decides on policies are bad, you know well". He says that he rejected having electoral debates with opposition candidates because he doesn't like them and prefers "debating with the people" instead. His campaign platform was submitted to the Bolivian's Workers' Center (COB) in order to be discussed and subsequently approved; he has "nothing to discuss with neoliberals". Morales states concern about the situation of justice in Bolivia, admitting that he made a mistake in implementing the election of judges by universal suffrage in 2011.

On foreign affairs, Morales states that he has a "diplomatic" relation with Spain: "I would like that Spain was the entrance gate to Europe, but there are other countries like France that may serve". He sees relationship with the US administration exactly like relationships with other countries; Morales doesn't regard the USA as a superpower. He says that he placed hope in Obama for being Afro American and therefore member of a socially discriminated sector of the population, while Morales belongs to the equally discriminated Amerindian community. However, he regrets that USA is not governed by Democrats or Republicans, but "it's governed by the banks". On drug policy, he says that UN and the EU respect and acknowledge his efforts in reducing illegal crops, admitting that there exists a problem with the coca which passes to Peru and Brazil. According to him. they are seeing how to control the border with said countries.

On a side note, Morales met with a top delegation of the Spanish Podemos movement which also visited Correa and Mújica in Ecuador and Uruguay, respectively.

http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2014/10/04/actualidad/1412434031_126486.html

[Velasco]

The Bolivian opposition grasps at the straws of the Aécio Neves unexpectedly good performance in Brazil in order to keep hope.

Samuel Doria Medina is running for the third consecutive time against Evo Morales. He placed third in the 2005 and 2009 elections running for the liberal-conservative National Unity Front (FUN) and getting 7.8% and 5.6%, respectively. This time polls place him in a distant second place and the trend is unfavourable (18% in July and 13% in September, according to Ipsos), but Samuel Doria holds that "there's always a hidden vote" and tries to keep morale high ("the government's strategy is saying that everything is settled, but look what happened in Brazil"). Samuel Doria has been trying to build an opposition front since 2013, reaching agreements with some regional forces cooperating in the Broad Front alliance, but apparently the efforts halted. As expression of the will for the opposition unity, his 2014 ticket has been renamed Democratic Unity (Unidad Democrática, UD).

Between 1991 and 2001 Samuel Doria was member of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), a left-wing party which enjoyed some prominence in past decades. Jaime Paz Zamora, who founded the MIR in 1971, was president of Bolivia between 1989 and 1993 with the support of his former foe Hugo Bánzer Suárez, former president himself for two terms (1971-1978 presiding a military junta, 1997-2001 as constitutional president). Samuel Doria was minister of Planning and Head of the Economic Cabinet between 1991 and 1993, implementing stabilisation policies in order to fight recession and hyperinflation in those years and being criticised by some for having favoured privatisation in key economic sectors. Nowadays Samuel Doria is deemed as one of the wealthiest Bolivians, being the majority shareholder of the cement enterprise SOBOCE. Lacking of charisma, the surge of the rival opposition candidate Jorge Tuto  Quiroga seems to have damaged Doria, who has stressed in his campaign the need of concentrating the oppositon vote behind him. Samuel Doria advocates for a "deideologisation" of international relations, criticising the OAS because of its lack of belligerence to the Morales administration, that is to say, a perceived hypocrisy and complacency personified in the OAS president -the Chilean Miguel Insulza-, bashed as "sometimes arrogant with Bolivians, sometimes flatterer of circumstantial powers".

The right-wing populist Jorge Quiroga was president of Bolivia between 2001 and 2002, replacing his coreligionist Hugo Bánzer after his resignation due to cancer. This election is the second race for Quiroga, who placed second in 2005 getting 28.6% of the vote running for PODEMOS (Social Democratic Power, conservative nationalist). PODEMOS and PDC (Christian Democratic Party) joined in 2008 in a short-lived alliance, which ended when the first party was disbanded the following year by the electoral court because it failed in presenting the membership logbook. Quiroga was invited by the PDC to run in this election. He's getting 8% in the polls, despite his modest share Quiroga is the only candidate with a favourable trend.

The other two candidates, both progressive leaning, are lagging far behind in the polls. Juan del Granado is a former mayor of La Paz (1999-2010), a lawyer and a human rights activist. He earned fame due to his achievement in bringing dictator Luis García Meza to justice; the man who presided a military junta between 1980 and 1981 was found guilty of crimes against human rights. Juan del Granado founded the centre-left Movement Without Fear (MSM) in 1999, alongside with some MIR members. The MSM was allied with the MAS until 2010 and since then both parties have a rivalry. Despite that rupture, the MSM was successful in placing Luis Revilla as mayor of La Paz replacing Juan del Granado, who advocates in his presidential bid for keeping distance with the representatives of the "neoliberal past" and the "stagnant present". Fernando Vargas, candidate of the Green Party (PVB), is one of the leaders of the indigenous marches which achieved to partially interrupt the construction of a highway crossing the TIPNIS, which is an indigenous territory and national park home of unique flora and fauna. Vargas belongs to the Mojene people, which lives in relative isolation in the TIPNIS. Evo Morales defended the road because it's necessary to connect Beni and Cochabamba departments. The Vargas candidacy represents, to some extent, those indigenous opposed to the current drive of the Morales administration.

[Velasco]

Simultaneously with the presidential elections, all seats in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (PLA) will be renewed today. The allocation of the 130 seats of the Chamber of Deputies and the 36 seats of the Senate is based proportionally on the result of the presidential election. Parties present closed lists in the 9 departmental constituencies, topped by the presidential and vicepresidential candidate of every political organisation. Every department elects 4 members to the Senate, whereas the seats in the Chamber of Deputies are allocated according to population. Actually, the Chamber of Deputies is elected by the MMP system: 63 "uninominal deputies" are elected by FPTP in single-member constituencies, 60 "plurinominal deputies" by PR/closed list discounting the seats obtained by the FPTP system, finally 7 deputies are elected in special campesino and indigenous constituencies. There is a 3% nationwide threshold.

A projection of seats made by La Paz newspaper Página Siete and based on a poll released in late August predicted the following result:

Chamber of Deputies: MAS 83, UD 20, PDC 11, MSM 2.

Senate: MAS 28, UD 7, PDC 1.

Totalling 111 seats, the MAS would get the 2/3 majority in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly  (63.8% of the deputies and 77.8% of the senators).

http://www.paginasiete.bo/decision2014/2014/8/31/encamina-tercios-30919.html

However, the MAS supermajority might be reinforced. The last presidential poll released by Mori projects the following result: Evo Morales 65%, Samuel Doria Medina 20%, Jorge Quiroga 10%, Juan del Granado 3% and Fernando Vargas 2%.

http://www.eleccionesbolivia.com/noticia-resultados-encuesta-presidencial-equipos-mori-elecciones-2014-bolivia-49.html

[politicus]

According to BBC an exit poll shows Morales got over 60%.

Electoral authorities and foreign observers say the election passed without major incidents of any kind.

[Velasco]

Exit polls:

Evo Morales (MAS) 59.5%/61%

Samuel Doria (UD) 24%/25.3%

Tuto Quiroga (PDC) 9%

Juan del Granado (MSM) and Fernando Vargas (PVB) 3% each.


Counting progress (2.89% reported)*:

Samuel Doria (UD) 43.43%

Evo Morales (MAS) 34.96%

Tuto Quiroga (PDC) 16.86%

Fernando Vargas (PVB) 2.53%

Juan del Granado (MSM) 2.22%

http://computo2014.oep.org.bo/

There are few polling places reported in Bolivia as of now (56 out of 7677 in La Paz, 361 out of 6839 in Santa Cruz). According to exit polls, Evo Morales won  8 out of 9 departments including Santa Cruz, the opposition bastion; Samuel Doria won in 1.

[Velasco]

Evo Morales proclaimed his victory tonight at 21:00 (local time) from the balcony of the Government's Palace in La Paz.

According to UNITEL/MORI, Evo Morales got 61% of the vote (64% in 2009). Translated into seats in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the MAS might get 111 seats (more than 2/3): 25 senators and 86 deputies. Samuel Doria (UD) got 24% and Tuto Quiroga (PDC) 9%, while Juan del Granado (MSM) and Fernando Vargas (PVB) got 3% each (which is the threshold to get parliamentary seats).

ATB/IPSOS: Morales 59.7%, Doria 25.1%, Quiroga 9.6%, del Granado 2.9%, Vázquez 2.7%.

Composition of the PLA according to projections made by the newspapers El Deber (Santa Cruz) and Página Siete (La Paz):

Chamber of deputies: MAS 84/86, UD 32/34, PDC 10, MSM 1, PVB 1.

Senate: MAS 24/25, UD 9/11,, PDC 1/2.


The MAS lost votes in strongholds like La Paz (69%, 80.3% in 2009) and Oruro (65%, down from 79.5%), but improved in the departments which traditionally lean to the opposition and were won in 2009 by Manfred Reyes Vila (PPB-CN): Beni, Pando and Santa Cruz.

In the Santa Cruz department, Evo Morales won by the first time getting 49% of the vote (up from 40.9%) followed by Samuel Doria (38%) and Tuto Quiroga (9%). Translated into seats, the MAS would get 17 (15 deputies and 2 senators), UD 13 (11 and 2) and the PDC 2. In the city of Santa Cruz Morales got 45% and Doria 41%; in the rural areas Morales got 55% and Doria 34%. Morales advanced amongst the urban middle class in Santa Cruz, according to local analysts.

In Pando Evo Morales got 53% (+8.5%), Doria 38.7, Quiroga 5.2%, Vázquez and del Granado 1.2% each.

Beni was the only department won by the opposition. According to exit polls Doria got 49% and Morales 43%.

Sources:

http://www.eldeber.com.bo/tag/Elecciones%202014

http://www.paginasiete.bo/

[Velasco]

El País special correspondent summarizes the Evo Morales victory as the result of an "unlikely cocktail" made of different balancing acts, that is to say:  a)juggling between an anti capitalist rhetoric and pragmatic economic policies; b) trying to make everybody happy (the rich and the poor; Amerindians, mestizos and whites); and c) not falling in the same economic mistakes and waste made by his Bolivarian coreligionists in Venezuela. Bolivia almost reached full employment and has a 5.5% expectation of growth for the next year, according to CEPAL. Gas represented 54% of the total exports (6.589 billion of dollars out of 12.042). Maintaining Bolivia as a major gas producer might require more exploration investments, which the government didn't implement yet.

Quoting some local analyst, the Morales antagonistic group is getting smaller and nowadays the government doesn't cause fear to anybody. However, his main opponent performed better than polls predicted although, paradoxically, the opposition lost ground in formerly rebel departments like Santa Cruz. Analysts say that Morales grew in the opposition leaning departments because of his pragmatism, which led him to approach the Santa Cruz entrepreneurial elites. In absence of detailed official results, the logical conclusion is that opposition candidates Samuel Doria and Tuto Quiroga increased their base of support in the Morales strongholds, overwhelmingly Amerindian. Maybe one of the causes is that the racial identification factor weighs less than in previous elections, although Morales retains a huge share of his traditional voter base.

The Electoral Supreme Court (TSE) promised that 70% of the votes would be counted on election night and 90% on the following morning. However, only a tiny fraction of precincts was reported on Monday morning. A TSE spokesperson told that they were receiving anonymous threats of sabotage which forced to redouble security measures. The OAS observation mission assures that the elections had enough guarantees, despite the extremely slow count due to technical and procedimental problems. National results will be available on October 22 or 23, according to some TSE spokeswoman quoted by El Deber and overseas voters on Wednesday. Computer attacks and equipment over heating caused the delay on Monday morning, says the same source.

Count progress as of now (49.93% reported):

MAS-IPSP 53.8%, UD 30.07%, PDC 11.37%, MSM 2.58%, PVB 2.18%.

[njwes]

Was this election considered generally free and fair (in contrast to those in a certain other Bolivarian republic)? Is Morales still hated in the less densely populated and wealthier regions that all tried to gain more sovereignty a few years ago?

[Velasco]

1)According to the OAS, "the electoral process was conducted with sufficient guarantees to ensure that the ballot reflected the will of the Bolivian people". The Electoral Observation Mission commended the Bolivian citizenry for the "high level of peaceful participation", reported that polling stations opened punctually and all voting materials were available but criticised the few TSE notaries present at polling stations which, together with lack of enough information, generated confusion among voters. The lack of staff, together with "technical and procedural difficulties" and other issues that you can read in a previous post, have contributed to the extremely slow tabulation, transmission and dissemination of results. Therefore, the OAS recommends "the implementation of an effective system for transmitting and disseminating preliminary results".

Opposition candidates acknowledged Morales' victory once the exit polls showed him on around 60% of the vote. From what I've been reading, exit polls have been enough accurate in predicting the result of previous elections in Bolivia, even though the OAS considers inadvisable extracting conclusions on them. The main criticism from opposition comes from the unfair balance in financing and access to media, as well Samuel Doria (and the other candidates, I guess) considers that the TSE is biased. The OAS received complaints on "the ongoing display, during the campaign period, of the current government's achievements", suggesting that "henceforth government propaganda remains subject to election legislation for a more fair balance in access to media" and also noting that "permanent public financing is not available to the political parties".

On a separate issue, the Electoral Mission recognizes "major legislative development" in Bolivia to promote women's political participation, noting that women constituted the majority of candidates in the newly created special districts for peasant-farming indigenous peoples, of which considers that "is important to implement educational campaigns to provide a better understanding of these districts, targeted especially at those peoples". As well, it also deems it "important to continue to promote the right to vote among peasant-farming indigenous peoples, supported by informative and training materials prepared in the languages of the different nations and peoples". As for women, the legislation in force has promoted parity in electoral lists. Nowadays violence against women is one of the major problems that is facing the Bolivian society.

http://en.mercopress.com/2014/10/14/oas-praise-for-bolivia-s-commitment-to-democracy-and-sunday-s-elections

El Deber, a Santa Cruz newspaper, reports an "increasing susceptibility" and fraud denunciations provoked by the slow counting process. Vice President Álvaro García Linera acknowledged that it was a mistake the announcement made by authorities, assuring that on Monday morning there was to be results on 90% of the precincts. García Linera criticised some TSE member for transmitting data through social networks, advising that "there should be more austerity in the words and more effort in the actions". Some UD legislator says that the slow count draws the attention, while a PDC member accuses the TSE of manipulation to steal deputies to his party (I ignore if there's base for that).

2) The answer is no, he's clearly less hated than in the years of the pro autonomy revolts. Evo Morales is taking the lead in Santa Cruz, the Bolivia's economic engine, and Pando. 

As of now, the preliminary count is at 90% and the result is pretty similar to the exit polls:

MAS 59.88%, UD 25.07%, PDC 9.44%, MSM 2.81%, PVB 2.79%.

By departments, Evo Morales (MAS) wins in La Paz (67.9%), Oruro (65.9%), Cochabamba (65.9%), Potosí (62.9%), Chuquisaca (60.9%), Tarija (51.2%), Pando (49.9%) and Santa Cruz (48.6%), coming second in Beni (42%).

Samuel Doria (UD) wins in Beni (50.9%), comes second in Santa Cruz (40.2%), Pando (39.6%), Tarija (26.9%), Potosí (23.4%), Cochabamba (20%), La Paz (15.1%) and Oruro (14.6%) and third in Chuquisaca (17.1%),.

Tuto Quiroga (PDC) is second in Chuquisaca (18.6%) and third in Tarija (19%), Oruro (12%), Cochabamba (9.1%), Santa Cruz (8.6%), La Paz (8.1%), Potosí (7.4%), Pando (5.5%) and Beni (4.4%). The best results for Juan del Granado were in Oruro (4.4%) and La Paz (4.1%), while Fernando Vargas (PVB) did better in La Paz (4.8%).

[Zanas]

Thanks for all that precious input.

Oh and Morales is clearly a dictator, I mean he wins reelection each time, that's how you recognize them, don't you ?

[Niemeyerite]

Thanks for all that precious input.

Oh and Morales is clearly a dictator, I mean he wins reelection each time, that's how you recognize them, don't you ?

Yeah, he's clearly a dictator. An indian can't get 60% of the vote... Not even in Bolivia. Also, he won in Santa Cruz, that'd mean a "chaparrito" is getting the white vote. That's not possibleee!!!

Also, thanks, Dani. Eres el mejor.

[Velasco]

I'm getting the impression that the problems with the count are due to lack of resources, technical incompetence and bad training of the TSE members. There are memes running in the internet making jokes with a printing error in the ballots, which said "Plurinominal State of Bolivia" instead of "Plurinational". Other memes made jokes on the failure of Samuel Doria and Tuto Quiroga, who promised eating his clock in the case that Morales was reaching 60%. Quiroga, who has been bashed by Doria supporters for dividing the opposition vote, assures that he's going to fulfill his promise, as well asked TSE members to resign for "incompetence" after they finish the work. There are other memes made by opposition people calling to migrate to Beni, the only department won by Samuel Doria. I'm reading some news on mutual accusations between Evo Morales and Tuto Quiroga in El Deber. Evo accused former president Quiroga of ordering the kill of the cocalero Casimiro Huanca, as well of trying to kill Morales himself and letting the control of the country to the USA and DEA. Tuto Quiroga counterattacked calling Morales coward, liar and victimizer, stating that cocaleros hate him for cutting the Chapare production and claiming that Morales instructed orders to manipulate ballots in order that he can reach 64% (the share Morales got in 2009).

TSE member Ramiro Paredes said that errors in the count caused variation in the results published in the website, especially in the Chuquisaca and Cochabamba departments, were opposition made fraud allegations. The TSE's chairwoman Wilma Velasco admitted the possibility of errors in the website, claiming that they are due to the procediment used by every departmental court and that they are not final results and political organisations are making their respective follow-up. The vote will be repeated on October 26 in El Torno and La Guardia, both localities in the environs of Santa Cruz city, because of incidents happened on Sunday. This will delay the proclamation of official results until the first days of November.

Senator elect Edwin Rodríguez (UD, Potosí) began a hunger strike on Wednesday night to protest against "manipulation" and "lack of transparency" and questioned the slow count progress. UD and PVB denounced "considerable variations" in the count of Cochabamba and Tarija, but the TSE chairwoman says the she didn't received any fraud denunciations.

The count only advanced 0,86% yesterday. With 90.94% of the precincts reported, Evo Morales reaches 60%. Count progress:

MAS 60.06%, UD 24.98%, PDC 9.41%, MSM 2.8%, PVB 2.78%.

TSE finished the count in the Cochabamba, Tarija and Chiquisaca departments. Pando was finished earlier, so there are four departments at 100% right now.

Cochabamba: MAS 65.86%, UD 19.97%, PDC 9.09%, MSM 3.01%, PVB 2.07%.

Chuquisaca: MAS 63.38%, PDC 17.08%, UD 16.16%, PVB 1.7%; MSM 1.68%.

Tarija: MAS 51.19%, UD 26.87%, PDC 19%, MSM 1.59%, PVB 1.36%.

Pando: MAS 49.89%, UD 39.64%, PDC 5.48%, PVB 2.56%, MSM 2.43%.

There are reports on the Chamber of Deputies single-member constituencies.

Chuquisaca (districts 1-5): PDC wins 1 constituency and MAS 4. La Paz (6-19): MAS is taking the lead in all constituencies. Cochabamba (20-28): UD 1, MAS 8. Oruro (29-32): MAS 4. Potosí (33-39): UD 1, MAS 5. Tarija (40-43): MAS 2, UD 1, PDC 1. Santa Cruz (44-57): MAS is taking the lead in 8 and UD in 6, with several districts too close to call. Beni (58-61): UD 3 and MAS 1 by a narrow margin (too close to call). Pando (62-63): I can't load the results.

MAS is taking the lead in the special campesino-indogenous districts of La Paz, Tarija, Santa Cruz and Beni. I can't load the other three.