Only a few hours after polls closed, results were already clear. The fears about the credibility of the process after the 2019 crisis— luckily did not materialize.

Turnout was massive, voting was peaceful and orderly, all polling stations opened and closed on time, even in very remote areas. I am more and more convinced that compulsory vote is a plus for a stable democracy.

The result was a surprise for many, as Rodrigo Paz, a long-standing politician who emerged very late in the campaign and carried a message against corruption and for reconciliation came first, followed by Tuto Quiroga. Worth mentioning is the fact that Evo Morales, excluded from running for legal issues, had openly called on his supporters to annul their ballots, reinforcing the unusually high percentage of null votes.

➡️ This was the first time Bolivia held elections leading to a second round that will take place on October 19th. The full composition of the Assembly is still unclear, as candidate lists were finalized only days before the vote and in some cases they were incomplete.  Together with the ECES team (in the picture), I spent the day visiting polling stations across La Paz and El Alto. It was a very interesting and I would even say recomforting experience. 

ECES did not to “observe” the vote directly, as we are here to implement a 18 months long EU funded project aimed at supporting electoral institutions and support transparency, integrity, and public trust in the electoral process. Our counterparts are the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the Ombudsman, civil society and local observers. 

I hope I will be back in october for the second round in this very passionating and diverse country!!!

In the picture the ECES Team.

more info here: https://eces.eu/bolivia/