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Ex-presidents

Bolivia's Right-Wing Candidates to Face Off in Presidential Runoff

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Bolivia's left-wing two-decade rule has come to an end as center-right senator Rodrigo Paz and right-wing former president Jorge Quiroga have advanced to a presidential runoff election. Paz won the first round of voting with 32% of the valid votes, while Quiroga secured 26.7%. The runoff election is scheduled for October 19, with neither candidate meeting the required 50% threshold. The election took place amid Bolivia's worst economic crisis in years, with inflation reaching nearly 25% year-on-year in July.

Key Takeaways:

  • Rodrigo Paz, a center-right senator, won the first round of the presidential election with 32% of the valid votes.
  • Jorge Quiroga, a right-wing former president, secured 26.7% of the valid votes in the first round.
  • Neither Paz nor Quiroga met the required 50% threshold, forcing a runoff election to be held on October 19.
  • The runoff election marks the end of 20 years of leftist rule in Bolivia, which began with the election of Evo Morales in 2005.
  • Millionaire businessman Samuel Doria Medina, who was tipped to finish first, secured 19.6% of the vote and threw his support behind Paz.
  • Senate president Andronico Rodriguez, the main leftist candidate, limped to a fourth-place finish with 8.5% of the vote.
  • Morales, who was barred from standing for an unconstitutional fourth term, cast a long shadow over the campaign, with nearly one in five voters spoiling their ballot in protest.

Statistics:

  • 32%: The percentage of valid votes won by Rodrigo Paz in the first round of the presidential election.
  • 26.7%: The percentage of valid votes secured by Jorge Quiroga in the first round.
  • October 19: The date of the scheduled runoff election.
  • 100%: The percentage of ballots counted by the election commission.
  • 50%: The threshold required for a candidate to win the presidential election outright.
  • 40% + 10-point margin: The alternative threshold required for a candidate to win in the absence of 50%+ support.
  • 25%: The year-on-year inflation rate in Bolivia in July.
  • 20 years: The duration of leftist rule in Bolivia, from the election of Evo Morales in 2005 to the current election.
  • 1 in 5: The proportion of voters who spoiled their ballot in protest against the exclusion of Morales from the election.

Sources:

  • [BSS (The official news Agency of Bangladesh)](https://www.bss.gov.bd/)

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