Constitutional Court of Bolivia Rules Evo Morales Cannot Be Presidential Candidate in 2025
Evo Morales, former president of Bolivia.
The Plurinational Constitutional Court (TCP) of Bolivia ratified that former president Evo Morales cannot be a candidate in the general elections to be held next year. According to the Court, this limitation is firmly established in existing constitutional law.
The special fourth chamber of the TCP issued constitutional ruling 0083/2024 ECA, regarding the request for Amendment and Clarification of the Plurinational Constitutional Sentence 1010/2023-S4 of December 28, 2023, presented by José Carlos Gutiérrez Vargas, as part of the constitutional appeal filed by Miguel Ángel Balcázar Ruiz against Vice President David Choquehuanca.
“The term of office of national representatives shall be subject to the constitutional rules set forth therein, allowing the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Bodies to exercise said mandate for two similar terms, whether continuous or discontinuous, with no possibility of a third term, given that the purpose of the Constituent Assembly, as determined by the current Political Constitution of the State, is to prevent in any way the permanence of an elected authority: in the case of the Executive and Legislative Bodies for more than ten years; in the Judicial Branch for more than 12 years; and in the Electoral Body for only one term with no possibility of re-election,” states the TCP’s ruling.
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With this constitutional ruling, the TCP ratified its Plurinational Constitutional Sentence of October 10, 2023 and affirmed that Evo Morales and any authority who has held a national, state, or municipal position can only serve for two terms, whether successive or discontinuous.
The measure affects a number of political leaders from the Movement for Socialism (MAS) and other indigenous leaders who support Morales, as they will be prevented from running again for the positions they previously held, marking a significant shift in the country’s electoral politics.
This Constitutional Court ruling comes amid a crisis within the ruling party MAS, where Evo Morales and the current president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, who was Morales’ minister of economy during the greater part of his 14-year presidency, are involved in an infighting over the candidacy for MAS in next year’s presidential elections.
(Últimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
