Bolivia's Upcoming Elections: When Will They Happen?

Bolivia's next general election is scheduled for 17 August 2025. The country's voters will elect the President and Vice President of Bolivia, 130 members of the Chamber of Deputies, and 36 members of the Chamber of Senators. The President and Vice-President are elected for a five-year term by the people. Bolivia has a multi-party system, with numerous parties. The country's last general election was held on 18 October 2020, which saw Luis Arce of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party elected as president in a landslide victory.

Bolivia's 2025 general election

Presidential Candidates

Several candidates have already declared their intention to run for president, including:

• Rodrigo Paz Pereira (CC), member of the Chamber of Senators
• Manfred Reyes Villa (Súmate), mayor of Cochabamba
• Vicente Cuéllar (Cambio25), rector of the Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University
• Jaime Soliz (PDC), former prosecutor of the department of Santa Cruz (2005–2010)
• Chi Hyun Chung, evangelical pastor, 2019 and 2020 presidential candidate
• Samuel Doria Medina, former minister of Planning and Coordination of Bolivia (1991–1993)
• Branko Marinković, former minister of Economy and Public Finance (2020)
• Luis Fernando Camacho (Creemos), Governor of Santa Cruz (2021-2024)

Other potential candidates are also speculated, including:

• Andrónico Rodríguez (MAS-IPSP), president of the Chamber of Senators (as Evo Morales' running mate)
• Carlos Mesa (CC), former president of Bolivia (2003–2005)
• Luis Arce (MAS-IPSP), president of Bolivia (2020–present)
• Rubén Costas (MDS), governor of the department of Santa Cruz (2015–2021)
• Evo Morales (MAS-IPSP), former president of Bolivia (2006–2019); ruled ineligible to run by a ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal

Background

The 2025 election will be the first since 2009 in which the winning party did not have a two-thirds majority in the Legislative Assembly. This means that cross-party support will be required for some functions, such as appointing certain authorities, making constitutional reforms, and censuring a government minister.

The Movement for Socialism (MAS) has held a parliamentary majority since 2005. However, the party has been criticised for its lack of participation in debates with opposition candidates and its use of state resources and infrastructure for campaign purposes.

Electoral System

The President of Bolivia is elected using a modified two-round system. A candidate wins outright if they receive more than 50% of the vote, or between 40% and 50% of the vote and are at least 10 percentage points ahead of their closest rival. If neither condition is met, a run-off election is held between the two top candidates.

The 130 members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected using a seat linkage-based mixed compensatory system, with 63 deputies elected by first-preference plurality and 60 by closed-list party-list proportional representation. The remaining seven seats are reserved for indigenous representatives and are elected by the usos y costumbres.

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

The Movement for Socialism (MAS)

MAS is a socialist political party that evolved out of the movement to defend the interests of coca growers. The party's goals include achieving plurinational unity and developing a new hydrocarbon law that guarantees 50% of revenue to Bolivia. Some members of MAS have also expressed interest in the complete nationalization of the fossil fuel industries, as well as the country's lithium deposits.

MAS is the dominant force in municipal politics in Bolivia. In the 2015 municipal elections, it was the only party to contest leadership of all 339 municipalities. The party won in 227 municipalities and 1,144 of the country's 2,022 municipal council members belong to MAS.

MAS has ruled Bolivia from 2005 to 2019 and again from 2020 onwards. In the 2005 election, MAS won the first-ever majority victory by a single Bolivian party. The party's presidential candidate, Evo Morales, won a clear majority with 53.7% of the valid presidential vote. MAS obtained 43.5% of the valid uninominal vote, which gave it 72 out of 130 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 12 out of 27 seats in the Senate.

In the 2020 Bolivian general election, Luis Arce of MAS was elected president in a landslide victory, winning 55% of the vote and securing majorities in both chambers of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. This election superseded the disputed results of the October 2019 elections, which were annulled due to a prolonged political crisis. MAS's victory in 2020 was significant as it was the first time since 2009 that the winning party did not have a two-thirds majority in the Legislative Assembly, meaning some functions would require cross-party support.

MAS is governed by several principles, including anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism, anti-colonialism, pluralism, internal democracy, and respect for natural leadership. The party tends to follow a bottom-up, decentralized structure, with regional and local branches having a significant say in party decisions. MAS is led by Evo Morales, who has served as the country's president from 2006 to 2019.

The Chamber of Deputies

The remaining seven seats are reserved for indigenous representatives elected by the usos y costumbres of minority groups. A voter can only vote in one of either the normal constituencies or special constituencies.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies is the presiding officer of the lower chamber of the National Congress of Bolivia. The president is currently elected for a one-year term.

The Chamber of Senators

Bolivia's Chamber of Senators, or Cámara de Senadores, is the upper house of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the national legislature of Bolivia. The Chamber of Senators has 36 seats, with each of the country's nine departments returning four senators. Senators are elected from party lists to serve five-year terms, and the minimum age to hold a Senate seat is 35 years.

The President of the Chamber of Senators of Bolivia, or Presidente de la Cámara de Senadores de Bolivia, is the presiding officer of the upper chamber of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. The president is currently elected for a one-year term.

The two-thirds majority

Bolivia's next general election is scheduled for 17 August 2025. Voters will elect the President of Bolivia and Vice President of Bolivia, 130 members of the Chamber of Deputies, and 36 members of the Chamber of Senators.

In Bolivia, the President and the Vice-President are elected for a five-year term by the people. The Chamber of Deputies has 130 members, elected for a five-year term, and the Chamber of Senators has 36 members. Bolivia has a multi-party system, and since 2005, a single party has achieved a parliamentary majority.

The Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, led by Evo Morales, has been a dominant force in Bolivian politics. In the 2020 elections, MAS won 55% of the vote and secured majorities in both chambers of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. However, for the first time since 2009, MAS did not attain a two-thirds majority in the Legislative Assembly. This meant that some functions would require cross-party support.

In the lead-up to the 2025 elections, there are several declared presidential candidates, including Rodrigo Paz Pereira (CC), Manfred Reyes Villa (Súmate), Vicente Cuéllar (Cambio25), Jaime Soliz (PDC), Chi Hyun Chung, Samuel Doria Medina, Branko Marinković, and Luis Fernando Camacho (Creemos). Additionally, there are several speculated candidates, such as Andrónico Rodríguez (MAS-IPSP), Carlos Mesa (CC), Luis Arce (MAS-IPSP), Rubén Costas (MDS), and Evo Morales (MAS-IPSP).

The MAS, led by Evo Morales, is once again seeking to obtain a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Surveys suggest that MAS has a strong advantage over the opposition, and their success in the 2025 elections could pave the way for constitutional reforms that further consolidate their political project. However, it remains to be seen whether MAS will be able to regain their two-thirds majority, or if they will continue to require cross-party support for certain legislative functions.

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