Bolivia's Executive Election: Process And Power Dynamics

Bolivia's government operates as a representative democratic republic, with three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is led by the president, who is both the head of state and the head of government. The president and vice president are directly elected by popular vote for a five-year term. To win the election, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of 50% or more of the votes, or 40% of the votes with a 10% lead over the runner-up. If no candidate meets these criteria in the first round of voting, a second round is held between the top two candidates. Bolivia's current president is Luis Arce, who was elected in 2020 with 55% of the vote in the first round.

Bolivia's executive election process

Bolivia's government operates as a representative democratic republic, with three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is headed by the president, who is both the head of state and the head of government.

The president and vice president are directly elected by popular vote for a five-year term. To win the election, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the votes, or at least 40% and 10% more than the runner-up. If no candidate meets these criteria, a second round is held between the top two candidates.

The latest presidential election in Bolivia took place on October 18, 2020, where Luis Arce of the MAS-IPSP party won with 55% of the vote in the first round.

The executive branch also includes the president's cabinet, whose heads form the Council of Ministers.

Who can vote?

Voting in Bolivia is mandatory for all citizens between the ages of 21 and 70. Those aged between 18 and 21 are only obligated to vote if they are married. Citizens must register with neighbourhood electoral notaries before an election, presenting a national identity card, birth certificate, or military service card. Only citizens over 70 may abstain voluntarily, while mental patients, traitors, convicts, and conscripted soldiers are ineligible to vote.

The history of voting rights in Bolivia has been marked by the expansion of suffrage. In the early Republican period, elections were conducted using multiple levels of electors, with universal suffrage restricted by literacy requirements and racial restrictions. Indigenous peoples were effectively excluded from the franchise. Under the Constitution of 1938, property restrictions on voting were removed, but the vote was still restricted to those who were male, literate, and of age.

In 1952, the National Revolutionary Movement instituted universal suffrage, ending literacy and racial restrictions. However, democracy was interrupted in 1964 by René Barrientos Ortuño, and again in 1969 by military rule. Since the restoration of democracy in 1982, Bolivia has held regular elections.

Who can be elected?

Bolivia's executive branch is led by the president, who is both the head of state and the head of government. The president is directly elected by the people, with each candidate running alongside a vice-presidential candidate on the same ticket. To win the election, a candidate must receive at least 50% of the vote, or 40% of the vote with a 10% lead over the runner-up. If no candidate achieves this in the first round of voting, a second round is held, with the top two candidates from the first round. The president and vice president are then elected to serve a five-year term.

Voting in Bolivia is mandatory for all citizens between 21 and 70 years of age. Individuals between 18 and 21 years of age are obligated to vote only if they are married.

In terms of who can be elected as president, the requirements are not entirely clear. However, it appears that any citizen who is eligible to vote is also eligible to run for president, provided they can gain enough support to be put forward as a candidate. The candidates for the major parties are typically well-known politicians who have served in other government roles, such as minister or governor, or have been involved in social movements. For example, Evo Morales was a cocalero (coca growers' union) leader before he became president.

There are no explicit restrictions on who can run for president based on factors such as age, race, or religion. However, it is worth noting that the candidates for the major parties have typically been older, established politicians with experience in government or social movements. Additionally, Bolivia has had both male and female candidates for president, and the country has a history of indigenous representation in government, with Evo Morales becoming Bolivia's first indigenous president in 2005.

How are candidates chosen?

Bolivia's government operates as a representative democratic republic, meaning that citizens elect individuals to represent their interests. The country's executive branch is headed by the president, who is both the head of state and the head of government.

The president and vice president are elected on the same ticket and serve a five-year term. To win the election, a candidate must receive at least 50% of the vote, or 40% of the vote with a 10% lead over the runner-up. If no candidate meets these criteria in the first round of voting, a second round is held between the top two candidates.

Bolivia has a multi-party system, with numerous active political parties. The candidates for the presidency are chosen by their respective parties, and the specific processes may vary. However, it is worth noting that the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party has been the majority political party in recent years, and they selected Luis Arce, a former minister of the economy, as their presidential candidate in the 2020 election.

The selection process for presidential candidates in Bolivia involves a combination of internal party processes and strategic considerations. The parties aim to choose individuals who can represent their interests and ideals effectively and have a strong chance of winning the election.

How are votes counted?

Bolivia's voting system is a mandatory one for all citizens between the ages of 21 and 70. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 21 are required to vote only if they are married. Presidential elections may be held twice if a candidate does not win with at least 50% of the vote (or 40% of the vote and 10% more than the runner-up) in the first round. The President and Vice President run on the same ticket and are elected to serve a 5-year term.

The Chamber of Deputies has 130 members, who are elected for a five-year term using the Additional Member System, and in the case of seven indigenous seats, by usos y costumbres. The 63 seats from single-member districts are elected using first-past-the-post voting. The 60 additional seats are elected using closed-list party-list proportional representation in districts of varying sizes corresponding to Bolivia's nine departments. For parties receiving at least 3% of the national vote, the seats are distributed using the D'Hondt method, subtracting the number of seats the respective party gained from the single-member districts in the respective department. If one party has more seats from the single-member districts alone than the proportion of list votes it received, the extra seats are taken from the last allocated list seats.

The Chamber of Senators has 36 members, four from each of the country's nine departments, which are also elected using closed-party lists, using the D'Hondt method.

Both the Senate and the proportional part of the Chamber of Deputies are elected based on the vote for the presidential candidates, while the deputies from the single-member districts are elected using separate votes. Party lists are required to alternate between men and women, while candidates in single-member districts are required to have an alternate of the opposite sex. At least 50% of the single-member deputies are required to be women.

Frequently asked questions