Bolivia's Quick Vote System: How Does It Work?

Bolivia's electoral system is a complex process that has undergone various changes over the years. The country holds national elections to choose a head of state, the president, and a legislature. The president and vice-president are elected for a five-year term, with a minimum requirement of 40% of the valid votes and a minimum 10% margin over the second-place candidate. The National Congress, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Senators, plays a crucial role in the legislative process. The Chamber of Deputies has 130 members, while the Chamber of Senators has 36. Bolivia's multi-party system and electoral reforms have aimed to establish a stable democratic process, but accusations of fraud and irregularities have been a persistent challenge.

Bolivia's quick vote count process is called Transmisión de Resultados Electorales Preliminares (TREP)

Bolivia elects a head of state, the president, and a legislature on a national level. The president and vice-president are elected for a five-year term by the people. The National Congress has two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Senators. The Chamber of Deputies has 130 members, elected for a five-year term using the Additional Member System, and seven special seats reserved for indigenous peoples, elected by usos y costumbres (indigenous customary practices). The Chamber of Senators has 36 members: four senators from each of the country's nine departments, allocated proportionally.

Bolivia has a multi-party system, and since 2005, a single party has achieved a parliamentary majority. The president is directly elected by the people and must receive at least 50% of the vote, or 40% of the vote with a 10% margin over the second candidate, to be elected. If neither condition is met, a second round is held between the top two candidates.

The members of the Chamber of Deputies (excluding the seven special seats) are elected using the additional member system. 63 seats are elected in single-member districts using first-past-the-post voting, and 60 additional seats are elected using closed-list party-list proportional representation. The Chamber of Senators has 36 members, four from each department, elected using closed party lists and the D'Hondt method.

The right to vote is guaranteed to all Bolivian citizens over the age of 21, or 18 if married, through a secret ballot in free and open elections. Voting is considered a civic duty, and failure to register or vote can result in penalties. Only citizens over 70 may abstain voluntarily, while mental patients, traitors, convicts, and conscripted soldiers are ineligible to vote.

TREP is based on photographs and meant to provide a preliminary result on election day

Bolivia's general elections in 2019 were held on October 20. Two independent vote count processes were used for the elections. The first one, Transmisión de Resultados Electorales Preliminares (TREP), is a quick count process based on photographs that is meant to provide a preliminary result on election day.

TREP is a quick count process that uses photographs to determine preliminary results on election day. It was first introduced in 2016 and was not intended to capture 100% of the vote count. Instead, it provides a snapshot of the vote count at a particular time. The TREP system was used for the first time in a general election in Bolivia in 2019.

On election day, the TREP results showed incumbent President Evo Morales leading his nearest opponent by about 8 points, which was less than the 10-point margin necessary to avoid a runoff election. At that point, the electoral commission stopped updating the TREP results. When the results were resumed about 24 hours later, after pressure from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the opposition, the results showed Morales had cleared the 10-point margin and was on course to win in the first round. The final, official results showed Morales won by 10.5 points.

The OAS expressed "deep concern" over the "hard-to-explain" and "drastic" increase in Morales' lead while the quick count was suspended, implying that the results were fraudulent. Major media outlets around the world erroneously reported that the vote count itself had been suspended, confusing the quick count with the official results. The electoral commission explained that official results were starting to become available, and they did not want to have two different sets of results being updated at the same time.

The controversy surrounding the suspension of the TREP results and the OAS statement sparked weeks of violence, unrest, and protests in Bolivia, ultimately leading to Morales being deposed in a military coup.

A second, traditional physical vote count takes more time to complete

Bolivia's election process is a complex and multi-layered system, with a mix of modern and traditional approaches. While the country has embraced technological advancements with a quick vote count system, it also relies on a more time-consuming physical vote count process as a second measure. This traditional method of vote counting is a meticulous procedure that demands careful attention to detail and contributes to the overall integrity of the election results.

The quick vote count system, known as Transmisión de Resultados Electorales Preliminares (TREP), is a preliminary process based on photographs of ballots. This method provides a swift indication of the election outcome on the day of voting. However, it is the second, more traditional physical vote count that serves as the official tally and takes considerably more time to complete.

The physical vote count is a meticulous process that involves manually counting each ballot paper. This method is essential to ensure the accuracy of the results and uphold the integrity of the democratic process. While it may be more time-consuming, it serves as a critical check and balance to validate the preliminary results.

The physical vote count is conducted by electoral notaries, who are responsible for organising and safeguarding the electoral registry at every polling station across the country. These notaries play a crucial role in the election process, as they are also authorised to register citizens to vote and maintain an accurate registry of voters.

The physical vote count is a transparent process that is open to public observation. This transparency is further reinforced by the presence of electoral juries, composed of five randomly selected citizens from the voting tables. These citizens monitor the voting process at the polling places, ensuring its integrity and fairness.

In conclusion, while the quick vote count system provides a rapid indication of the election results, it is the second, traditional physical vote count that serves as the official and definitive tally. This meticulous process is a cornerstone of Bolivia's democratic process, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the election outcomes.

The quick count process was criticised for a 24-hour pause in results transmission

In the 2019 Bolivian general election, two independent vote count processes were used. The first, Transmisión de Resultados Electorales Preliminares (TREP), is a quick count process based on photographs that provides a preliminary result on election day. The second is the traditional physical count, which takes longer to complete.

The TREP process was criticised for a 24-hour pause in results transmission. With a preliminary vote count of 45% for incumbent president Evo Morales and 38% for his leading challenger, former president Carlos Mesa, after 83% of votes were counted, neither of the conditions for a first-round win appeared likely to be met. However, no further updates to the preliminary results were made on election day, causing consternation among opposition politicians and election monitors from the Organization of American States (OAS). Mesa described the suspension as "extremely serious" and alleged manipulation, while the OAS requested an explanation for the pause in the publication of the vote tally.

Despite the pause, election staff were observed counting votes overnight. When the publication of the count resumed, the OAS said it observed a "drastic and hard-to-explain change in the trend", and recommended a runoff election due to what it viewed as manipulation. Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) stated that updates to the preliminary count had been halted because the official results were starting to be released. The TSE also stated that the vote had taken place normally, with relatively few incidents.

The OAS and EU conducted full reports and responses to the election

The OAS report also detailed a significant number of errors and indices, and revealed the partiality of the electoral authority. The members of the TSE, who were tasked with ensuring the legality and integrity of the process, allowed the flow of information to be diverted to external servers, destroying all confidence in the electoral process. The conclusion of the report was that the manipulations and irregularities indicated do not allow certainty about the margin of victory of Evo Morales over Carlos Mesa.

The EU report, published on 21 December, made similar observations and conclusions to that of the OAS. They noted that there were minutes with an unusually high number of null votes, blank votes and a hundred per cent participation of voters in a series of polling stations. They also highlighted the general failure of the TSE to declare these irregularities.

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