Bolivia - August 2024

On 13 August, electoral authorities published the date for judicial elections. On 1 December, after a year of delay, voters will be choosing members of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Agro-Environmental Tribunal, and members of the Council of Magistrates. This was facilitated on account of agreements between parliamentary groups, including opposition lawmakers who previously had objected to the election of judges by popular vote, but now are encouraging participation to end what they view as the arbitrary extension of terms of members of the judiciary. Lawmakers had been unable to decide on procedural issues related to the voting process and a list of candidates for all the judgeships that will be elected (26 in total), which required a two-thirds majority approval. The agreement also follows differences between the legislature and the judiciary over the legality of the extension of the terms of high court judges, and over the validity of the decisions taken by such judges after their original tenures expired.    

Sources: Órgano Electoral Plurinacional, Hoy Bolivia, El Deber, El Pais, International IDEA