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Evo Morales had to resign last year
Photo: Claudio Santisteban / imago images / ZUMA Press
Around five weeks before the Senate elections in Bolivia, a court has finally dashed the hopes of ex-President Evo Morales for a seat on the body.
The constitutional court in La Paz approved a corresponding decision by the commission responsible for organizing the elections on Monday with a narrow majority.
Justice Minister Alvaro Coimbra commented on Monday on Twitter with the words: "There are still righteous judges."
The electoral authority had already declared the long-term head of state's candidacy as senator for the Cochabamba Department inadmissible in February because he did not have a permanent residence in Bolivia.
Morales' lawyers lodged a complaint against it with the court at the government seat of La Paz - in vain, as it now turned out.
The elections have meanwhile been postponed several times due to the corona pandemic.
Morales lives in exile in Argentina
Morales currently lives in exile in Argentina.
He resigned last year after serving thirteen years under pressure from the military after he was accused of fraud in the presidential election on October 20.
In Bolivia, an interim government took over the official business.
The supporters of the first indigenous president of the Andean state and his allies in the region speak of a coup.
On October 18th, not only the parliament but also the president is to be elected.
The elections had been postponed several times due to the corona pandemic.
The vote is intended to end the political crisis in the South American country.
Since Morales' resignation, the conservative former Vice-Senate President Jeanine Áñez has been temporarily head of state.
Morales on several charges
Before the court's decision, Morales had already been banned from the presidential election.
The Senate had passed a law that excludes candidates who have already been in office for the past three legislative terms.
Morales is charged with sedition and terrorism in Bolivia.
In addition, the Bolivian Attorney General has filed a complaint against Morales for crimes against humanity in The Hague.
He is also in the focus of the judiciary for alleged relationships with minors.
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height / dpa / AFP