BOLIVIA.- Thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday in six of the nine regions of the country, denouncing irregularities in the results of last Sunday's elections, in which Evo Morales was a winner by narrow margin and after a long count, avoiding a second round
Meanwhile, an opposition alliance headed by the candidate and former president Carlos Mesa reported that he is unaware of the results of the national count of the general elections. He also announced that he will campaign for the international community to also ignore the results of the final calculation.
The most intense protest, which takes four days of civic unemployment, was held in the Santa Cruz region. In La Paz there were blockages in several neighborhoods south of the city. At night there were vigils and clashes of clashes.
During the blockades in Santa Cruz, several protesters with Bolivian flags sang Evo Morales in the morning at dawn, but with a modified letter. According to videos recorded on cell phones and broadcast on social networks, the protesters chanted: “Wake up, Evo wake up, the people got up. The streets are already full, people are already pressed (tired). ”
In PotosÃ, a demonstration that included merchants, teachers, university students, women and children and that added about 15 blocks traveled the streets in rejection of the triumph of the MAS. The protest was led by a vehicle of the Civic Committee (ComCiPo) that yesterday was attacked by groups at the end of the ruling party. "Evaristo ... Evaristo Chonchocoro is ready," was what he sang the most, according to the newspaper El Debe.
The Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union suggested that Bolivia hold a second round of elections anyway. Recently, the government of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he will not recognize any announcement of final results at this time, claiming that negotiations with the OAS to conduct a full audit of the process are ongoing, according to a tweet from the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.
The United States, Argentina and Colombia also asked on Thursday for a second round in Bolivia after the controversial vote count and after Morales declared himself the winner. In a statement released by the Colombian Foreign Ministry, the governments of those countries anticipated that "they will only recognize results that reflect the will of the Bolivian people."
Morales responded on Saturday in the central region of Cochabamba. "Let them pass. Let's audit, vote by vote, table by table, mayor's office by department, department by department and I will accompany them and if there is fraud, the next day we call the second round, ”he said.
Morales has ruled Bolivia for almost 14 years. On Saturday he received his birthday in the central region of Cochabamba, in the coca-growing area of Chimoré, where he attended the anniversary of the anti-drug trafficking force.
After the most fierce elections in 16 years, the Supreme Electoral Court delivered the results on Friday afternoon with 100% of the votes counted. Although he did not proclaim any winner yet, he validated that Morales obtained 47.08% of the votes, above his main contender, former President Carlos Mesa, who obtained 36.51%. The difference between the two was 10.57 percentage points.
The law indicates that to win in the first round a candidate must obtain 50% plus one of the votes or achieve 40% and have a difference of at least 10 percentage points over the second most voted candidate.
Days before, Morales declared himself a winner and said he had obtained an absolute majority in the Legislative Assembly but would expect the results. Local newspapers noted that, with the Court's countdown finished, the ruling party would obtain 102 seats, thereby ensuring an absolute majority. The court has not yet given its final report.
Candidate Mesa accuses Morales of "carrying out a coup d'etat" with "a monumental fraud." Morales, meanwhile, says that Mesa is gearing a blow against him with international support to ignore his victory.
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