The outcome of the presidential election in Bolivia remains highly controversial, even in Germany there are doubts about the official result. The Federal Foreign Office responded with a tweet to the demands of the EU and the Organization of American States (OAS) following a runoff between President Evo Morales and opposition candidate Carlos Mesa. The election commission in La Paz officially declared incumbent Morales the winner on Thursday (local time).
In La Paz on Friday again opposition supporters went against the official election on the street. Protesters erected barricades. In Cochabamba, in the center of the country, there were clashes between Morales supporters and government opponents, according to local media reports.
The Bolivian community in Germany has announced demonstrations for democracy and electoral fraud in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and Frankfurt am Main for the weekend. They also call for a second round.
Bolivia has been arguing for days about the outcome of the presidential election. After counting 99.9 percent of the vote, the electoral commission announced Thursday that Morales had secured 47.1 of the votes. His challenger Mesa came to 36.5 percent.
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According to Bolivian suffrage, the winner of a presidential election in the first round of elections requires either more than 50 percent of the vote or more than 40 percent and at least ten points behind the runner-up. That's exactly what Morales would have achieved, according to official results. The result is highly challenged internationally.
The confidence in the electoral process must be restored by a second ballot, demanded the Foreign Office. The "democratic decision of the people" must be respected. A similar statement had been made on Thursday by a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. The US and numerous South American countries also called on the government in La Paz to hold a second round of election.
Worried about counting the election results in #Bolivia: supports demands from EU & OAS to allow a 2nd ballot in . It must be about restoring confidence in the electoral process. Democratic decision of the people must be respected
- Federal Foreign Office (@ExtendedAmt) October 25, 2019Morales, who has been in power since 2006, received approval from his Venezuelan colleague Nicolás Maduro. He spoke on Friday of a "coup attempt" in Bolivia and condemned the protests against the election result as well as the charges against Morales allegations of electoral fraud.
