View source for Elections in Bolivia

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Politics of Bolivia}}
[[Bolivia]] elects on national level a [[head of state]] &ndash; the [[President of Bolivia|president]] &ndash;  and a [[legislature]]. The president and the vice-president are elected for a five-year term by the people. The [[National Congress of Bolivia|National Congress]] (''Congreso Nacional'') has two [[bicameralism|chambers]]. The [[Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia|Chamber of Deputies]] (''Cámara de Diputados'') has 130 members, elected for a five-year term using a two vote [[seat linkage]] compensatory system (for [[mixed-member proportional representation]]) and in the case of seven indigenous seats by ''[[usos y costumbres]]''. The [[Senate of Bolivia|Chamber of Senators]] (''Cámara de Senadores'') has 36 members: each of the country's [[Departments of Bolivia|nine departments]] returns four senators allocated proportionally.<ref name=RegimenElectoral>{{cite web|title=Bolivia: Ley del Régimen Electoral, 30 de junio de 2010|url=http://www.lexivox.org/norms/BO-L-N26.xhtml|website=Lexivox|access-date=10 February 2015}}</ref>

Bolivia has a [[multi-party]] system, with numerous [[political parties|parties]]. During the first 23 years of renewed democracy beginning 1982, no one party succeeded in gaining power alone, and [[political parties|parties]] had to work with each other to form [[coalition government]]s. Since 2005, a single party has achieved a parliamentary majority.

Ahead of any national election a period of prohibition takes effect. This is with the intention of preventing inebriated nationals voting in error. Nationals are also forbidden from travelling around during the same period. This is to prevent voters from voting in more than one district. On polling day it is difficult to obtain a taxi or bus, due to the limitations placed upon travel and transport.

==Result==
<onlyinclude>{{Election results
|image=[[File:Bolivie Chambre des députés 2020.svg|300px]][[File:Bolivie Sénat 2020.svg|300px]]
|dsv=y|candtitle=Presidential candidate|seattype1=Chamber|seattype3=Senate
|party1=Movimiento al Socialismo|cand1=Luis Arce|votes1=3393978|st1t1=75|st3t1=21
|party2=Civic Community|cand2=Carlos Mesa|votes2=1775943|st1t2=39|st3t2=11
|party3=Creemos|cand3=Luis Fernando Camacho|votes3=862184|st1t3=16|st3t3=4|color3=#d02d69
|party4=Front for Victory (Bolivia)| Front For Victory|cand4=Chi Hyun Chung|votes4=95245|st1t4=0|st3t4=0|color4=#145050
|party5=National Action Party of Bolivia|cand5=Feliciano Mamani|votes5=31770|st1t5=0|st3t5=0|color5=#D90009
|total_st1t=130|total_st3t=36
}}</onlyinclude>

==Schedule==
{{update-section|date=February 2015}}
===Election===
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
!Position !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015
|-
!Type
| [[2009 Bolivian general election|Presidential and National Congress]] (December 6)
| [[2010 Bolivian regional election|Regional]] (April) 
| [[2011 Bolivian judicial election|Judicial]] (October 16) 
|colspan=2 | ''only special elections'' 
| [[2009 Bolivian general election|Presidential and National Congress]] (October 12)
| [[2015 Bolivian regional election|Regional]] (April)
|-
!President and<br />vice president
|'''President and vice president''' ||colspan=4|None ||'''President and vice president''' || None 
|-
!National Congress
|'''All seats''' ||colspan=4|None ||'''All seats''' || None  
|-
!Departments, provinces, and municipalities
|None
|'''All positions''' ||colspan=4|None ||'''All positions''' 
|}

===Inauguration===
{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|-
!Position !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014
|-
!Type
| Presidential (November)<br />National Congress (November)<br />Gubernatorial (November) ||colspan=4|None || Presidential (November)<br />National Congress (November)<br />Gubernatorial (November) 
|-
!President and<br />vice president
|'''6 November''' ||colspan=4|None ||'''6 November'''
|-
!National Congress
|'''6 November''' ||colspan=4|None ||'''6 November'''
|-
!Provinces, cities and municipalities
|'''6 November''' ||colspan=4|None ||'''6 November'''
|}

==Electoral system==
The president is directly elected by a [[Two-round_system|two-round runoff]] (ballotage) system. A candidate has to receive at least 50% of the vote, or 40% of the vote, and 10% more than the second candidate to be elected, otherwise a [[Two-round system|second round]] is held with the top two finishers to determine the winner.

The 130 members in the [[Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia|Chamber of Deputies]] (''Cámara de Diputados'') are elected using a [[seat linkage]] based mixed [[Compensation (electoral systems)|compensatory]] system using two votes: 63 deputies are elected by [[First-past-the-post voting|first-preference plurality]] to represent single-member [[Electoral district|electoral districts]], 60 are elected by [[closed list]] [[party-list proportional representation]] from party lists on a departmental basis (in districts of varying sizes corresponding to Bolivia's nine departments with a threshold of 3%).<ref name="RegimenElectoral2">{{cite web |title=Bolivia: Ley del Régimen Electoral, 30 de junio de 2010 |url=http://www.lexivox.org/norms/BO-L-N26.xhtml |access-date=10 February 2015 |website=Lexivox}}</ref> The list seats in each region are awarded proportionally based on the vote for the presidential candidates, subtracting the number of single-member districts won (to provide [[mixed-member proportional representation]]). The remaining seven seats are reserved indigenous seats elected by the ''[[usos y costumbres]]''. A voter can only vote in one of either the normal constituencies or special constituencies ([[Coexistence (electoral systems)|coexistence]]).<ref name="RegimenElectoral2" /> Party lists are required to alternate between men and women, and in the single-member districts, men are required to run with a female alternate, and vice versa. At least 50% of the deputies from single-member districts are required to be women.<ref name="RegimenElectoral" />

The [[Senate of Bolivia|Chamber of Senators]] (''Cámara de Senadores'') has 36 members, four from each the country's nine departments, which are also elected using closed party-lists, using the [[D'Hondt method]].<ref name="RegimenElectoral2" /> The senate seats are also awarded based on the vote for president.

The election uses the same votes to elect the President (first round), the Chamber and the Senate, making it a [[Double simultaneous vote|double (triple) simultaneous vote]]. Voters may therefore not [[Split-ticket voting|split their ticket]] between these elections, but they may vote for a candidate of a different list in the election of the Chamber as the deputies from the single-member districts are elected using separate votes.

==History of elections in Bolivia==

===Indirect elections, 1825-50===
Elections were conducted in the early Republican period using multiple levels of electors, each of which would elect members of the next higher level, culminating in the president.<ref>{{Cite book | publisher = PNUD | last = Barragán R. | first = Rossana | title = Regiones y poder constituyente en Bolivia: Una historia de pactos y disputas | chapter = Ciudadanía y elecciones, convenciones y debates | series = Cuaderno de futuro | year = 2005 | pages = 287–294 }}</ref>

===Direct elections with restricted suffrage, 1839 and 1850-1938===
In the elections of 1839, however, the president was elected by a majority of all voters. This system became the norm beginning in 1850. Voting requirements included a minimum property or income or service in one of the professions, and forbid all those "in domestic service" from voting. Indigenous peoples were effectively excluded from the franchise.

===Expanding electorate, 1938-1951===
Under the Constitution of 1938, property restrictions on voting were removed however the vote was still restricted to those who were male, literate, and of age. Elections were held in 1940 and 1951, and saw a dramatic expansion of the electorate.

===Universal suffrage and interruptions in democracy, 1952-79===
Shortly after coming to power through the {{Interlanguage link|Bolivian Revolution of 1952|es|Revolución boliviana de 1952}}, the [[National Revolutionary Movement]] instituted [[universal suffrage]], ending literacy requirements and racial restrictions which had massively reduced the Bolivian electorate up to that time. General elections were held in 1956, 1960, and 1964; and purely legislative elections were held in 1958 and 1962. Democracy was interrupted in 1964 by [[René Barrientos Ortuño]], who proceeded to hold and win an election in 1966 and to convoke the [[Bolivian Constituent Assembly of 1966-67|Constituent Assembly of 1966-67]] to rewrite the [[Constitution of Bolivia]].<ref name=Cordero27>{{Cite book | publisher = Corte Nacional Electoral | last = Cordero Carraffa | first = Carlos Hugo | title = Historia Electoral de Bolivia: 1952-2007 | series = Cuadernos de trabajo | date = February 2007 | url = http://www.cne.org.bo/centro_doc/cuadernos_tra/cuaderno_tra4_historia_electoral.pdf | page = 27 }}</ref> Following Barrientos' death in 1969, democracy was further interrupted by military rule until 1979, including the eight-year dictatorship of [[Hugo Bánzer Suarez]].

===Democratic transition and final dictatorship, 1979-82===
In a chaotic period of transition marked by numerous [[Coup d'état|coups d'état]], three elections were held in 1978, 1979, 1980. Parliamentary majorities were not obtained in 1978 and 1979 and alliance building was interrupted by coups. [[Lydia Gueiler Tejada|Lydia Gueiler]], an elected member of the National Congress assumed power constitutionally from November 1979 to mid-1980. The results of the 1980 elections were the basis for the post-1982 parliament and the 1982–85 government of [[Hernán Siles Zuazo]].

===Multiparty democracy, 1982-present===
Elections have been held regularly in the democratic period that began in 1982. General elections were held in 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2005, and 2009.<ref name=Cordero27 /> A [[Bolivian Constituent Assembly of 2006-2007|Constituent Assembly]] was elected in 2006. The 1985 Organic Law of Municipalities restored local elections for mayor and created a legislative body, the municipal council, in each municipality.<ref>{{Cite journal | volume = XI | issue = 20 | pages = 61–95 [68] | last = Córdova | first = Eduardo | title = Cochabamba es el centro es la ausencia: Impulsos estatales y sociales de la descentralización en Cochabamba (1994–2008) | journal = Decursos: Revista de Ciencias Sociales | year = 2009 }}</ref> The first local elections were held in 1987, followed by further elections in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2004, and 2010. Similarly, departmental elections for Prefect began in 2006 and elections for Departmental Legislative Assemblies began in 2010. Following the passage of the 2009 Constitution, the National Electoral Court was replaced in late 2010 by a fourth branch of government, the [[Plurinational Electoral Organ]], whose highest body is the [[Plurinational Electoral Organ#Supreme Electoral Court|Supreme Electoral Court]].

==Latest elections==

=== 2020 Bolivian general election ===
{{Main|2020 Bolivian general election}}

On 18 October 2020, Bolivian voters elected [[Luis Arce]], leader of Evo Morales' MAS-IPSP, as Bolivia's president with 55% of the vote in the first round. Arce's main opponents, [[Carlos Mesa]] and [[Luis Fernando Camacho]], received 29% and 14% of the vote, respectively. Arce took the office of president on 8 November 2020.

=== 2021 Bolivian regional elections ===
{{Main|2021 Bolivian regional elections}}

=== 2024 Bolivian judicial election ===
{{Main|2024 Bolivian judicial election}}

== Other elections and referendum ==
<!-- Place here only those that don't have articles of their own -->
=== 2015 Autonomy referendum ===
On September 20, 2015, five western and central departments—Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, La Paz, Oruro, and Potosí—voted on whether to approve "organic charters" (constitutions of autonomous governance), as did three municipalities and two indigenous territories.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tse.oep.org.bo/index.php/referendo2015|title=Referendo para Aprobación de Estatutos Autonómicos y Cartas Orgánicas 2015|website=Tribunal Supremo Electoral|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314014045/http://tse.oep.org.bo/index.php/referendo2015|archive-date=2016-03-14|url-status=dead}}</ref> Voters in all five departments rejected their charters of autonomy, which were drafted by MAS-IPSP–led legislatures.
{| class="wikitable"
!Department
!Yes votes
!%
!No votes
!%
!Blank
!Null
!Total ballots cast
!Eligible voters
!Turnout as % of electorate
|-
|Cochabamba
|335,464
|38.42%
|'''537,706'''
|'''61.58%'''
|17,910
|57,930
|949,010
|1,137,872
|83.4%
|-
|Chuquisaca
|99,819
|42.57%
|'''134,652'''
|'''57.43%'''
|5,917
|18,057
|267,445
|324,587
|
|-
|La Paz
|425,605
|31.94%
|'''906,759'''
|'''68.06%'''
|30,159
|88,885
|1,026,228
|
|
|-
|Oruro
|59,119
|25.98%
|'''168,443'''
|'''74.02%'''
|5,800
|14,064
|
|297,217
|
|-
|Potosí
|93,705 
|31.92%
|'''199,823'''
|'''68.08%'''
|8,278
|21,546
|323,352
|408,131
|79.2%
|-
| colspan="10" |Sources: {{Cite news|title=Referendo autonómico: A cómputo final ganó el No en cinco departamentos|work=Agencia de Noticias Fides|access-date=2016-03-13|date=2015-09-25|url=http://www.noticiasfides.com/sociedad/referendo-autonomico-a-computo-final-gano-el-no-en-cinco-departamentos-357356/}}
|}

===2011 Special municipal election===
A special election is due be held for the mayor of five cities where mayors have stepped down or been indicted. In July 2011, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal formally convoked the elections for mayor in three cities: Sucre, Quillacollo, and Pazña for December 18, 2011.<ref>{{Cite news | title = Convocan a comicios electorales en 3 municipios | work = Página Siete | access-date = 2011-07-22 | date = 2011-07-22 | url = http://www.paginasiete.bo/2011-07-22/Nacional/Destacados/200000422.aspx | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120317125140/http://www.paginasiete.bo/2011-07-22/Nacional/Destacados/200000422.aspx | archive-date = 2012-03-17 }}</ref> 
{| class = "wikitable"
|-
!City
!Outgoing Mayor (Party)
!Notes
|-
| [[Sucre (city)|Sucre]], Chuquisaca
| [[Jaime Barrón]] (PAÍS)
| Resigned in July 2010 under indictment for [[May 24, 2008 violence in Sucre|May 24, 2008 violence]]
|-
|[[Quillacollo]], Cochabamba
|Héctor Cartagena (UNE)
|
|-
|[[Punata]], Cochabamba
|Víctor Balderrama (Insurgente Martín Uchu)
|Suspended under indictment for aggravated rape of a minor on August 10, 2010 (convicted September 2011<ref>{{Cite news | title = Condenan con 25 años de prisión al Alcalde suspendido de Punata | work = La Razón | access-date = 2011-08-08 | date = 2011-08-08 | url = http://www.la-razon.com/version.php?ArticleId=135257&EditionId=2615 }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>); pledged to resign to allow new elections
|-
|[[Pazña Municipality|Pazña]], Oruro
|Víctor Centeno (MAS-IPSP)
|Resigned on 15 June 2010 under "psychological pressure and regional divisions"<ref>"[http://www.bolivianpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=401:en-quillacollo-y-pazna-habran-nuevas-elecciones-para-alcalde&catid=46:cochabamba-&Itemid=84 En Quillacollo y Pazña habrán nuevas elecciones para alcalde] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911002651/http://www.bolivianpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=401:en-quillacollo-y-pazna-habran-nuevas-elecciones-para-alcalde&catid=46:cochabamba-&Itemid=84 |date=2011-09-11 }}," ''Bolivianpress.com'', 16 June 2011.</ref>
|-
|[[Catacora]], La Paz
|
|
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[Electoral calendar]]
* [[Electoral system]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/b/bolivia/ Adam Carr's Election Archive]

{{Bolivian elections}}
{{South America in topic|Elections in}}
{{Bolivia topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elections In Bolivia}}
[[Category:Elections in Bolivia| ]]