Bolivia - November 2023
Electoral Tribunal annuls congress of MAS party
Bolivia’s Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Supremo Electoral, TSE) annulled the Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) party’s October Congress. The party’s leadership was elected there and Evo Morales was chosen to be the candidate for the 2025 presidential election. The TSE ordered MAS to hold a new Congress.
The Congress revealed deep divisions within the party, as the country’s current President, Luis Arce, was expelled from MAS. Former President Morales’s criticism of Arce’s government, including accusations of corruption and ineffective policies against crime, have fuelled discord within the ruling party. Disagreements over who should run for MAS in the 2025 presidential election add to the division. The inability of MAS congressmembers to act in a unified way has contributed to a stalemate in the National Assembly on a number of issues, including the delay of judicial elections originally scheduled for October.
Morales and his supporters have accused the TSE of being partial to Arce and have called for retraction of the decision.
