2009 Bolivian general election
← 2005 December 6, 2009 2014 →
Presidential election
 
Nominee Evo Morales Manfred Reyes Villa Samuel Doria Medina
Party MAS-IPSP National Convergence National Unity
Running mate Álvaro García Linera Leopoldo Fernández Gabriel Helbing
Popular vote 2,943,209 1,212,795 258,971
Percentage 64.22% 24.46% 5.65%
Results by province
President before election

Evo Morales
MAS-IPSP

Elected President

Evo Morales
MAS-IPSP

General elections were held in Bolivia on December 6, 2009,[1] following a constitutional referendum held on 25 January 2009.[2][3] The election was initially expected to be held in 2010.[4] Voters elected:

The five departments which had not already done so all voted to have departmental autonomy. Eleven municipalities voted to have indigenous autonomy, out of twelve holding such referendums.[5] One province voted to have regional autonomy.

Presidential candidates

Under the new constitution, all previous terms will not be considered for term limits. If any candidate fails to win over 50% of the vote and another candidate is within 10%, a second round will be held. It was the first time that an incumbent president ran for reelection. The presidential candidates were:

Opinion polls

Polling prior to the election indicated that incumbent Evo Morales enjoyed a 55% approval rating, as well as an 18-point lead over his closest challenger Manfred Reyes Villa.[6] As Morales was expected to cruise to reelection, the local press reported that Villa has already purchased an airplane ticket to the United States for the 7th (the day after the election).[6]

Results

Election result by department:
  Departments where Morales won
  Departments where Reyes won

Evo Morales won a convincing victory, with 64.22% of the vote. His party, Movement for Socialism, won a two-thirds majority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

PartyPresidential candidateVotes%Seats
Chamber+/–Senate+/–
Movement for SocialismEvo Morales2,943,20964.2288+1626+14
Plan Progress for Bolivia – National ConvergenceManfred Reyes Villa1,212,79526.4637+3010+9
National Unity FrontSamuel Doria Medina258,9715.653–50–1
Social AllianceRené Joaquino Carlos106,0272.312New0New
Social Patriotic Unity MovementAna María Flores23,2570.510New0New
GenteRomán Loayza15,6270.340New0New
Peoples for Liberty and SovereigntyAlejo Véliz12,9950.280New0New
Social Democratic BoliviaRime Choquehuanca9,9050.220New0New
Total4,582,786100.00130036+9
Valid votes4,582,78694.31
Invalid/blank votes276,6545.69
Total votes4,859,440100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,139,55494.55
Source: CNE

Autonomy referendums

Departments

The five departments which had not already done so all voted to become autonomous departments. Each will have to produce a statute of autonomy. They were:

Regional autonomy

The Gran Chaco Province in Tarija held a referendum on regional autonomy, which was approved by 80.4% of voters.[8]

Municipalities

The following municipalities voted on whether to become autonomous municipalities according to the Indigenous Originary Campesino Autonomy provisions of the 2009 Constitution. Eleven voted yes:

One municipality voted no:

References

  1. ^ "Bolivien: Einigung über Verfassungsreferendum". Die Presse (in German). APA. 21 October 2008. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  2. ^ "Bolivia set for constitution vote". BBC News. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  3. ^ http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={770AB960-1BD0-4417-8B3F-364526BF6886})&language=EN Archived March 15, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "General Elections in Bolivia, December 2009 (ARI)". Elcano Royal Institute.
  5. ^ a b Diego Andrés Chávez Rodríguez, "La Autonomía Indígena Originario Campesina: Entre la formalidad y la autodeterminación," Diálogos en Democracia, 21 March 2010 (Supplement to Pulso Bolivia).
  6. ^ a b "Morales keeps faith with populism ahead of Bolivia poll". FT. 5 Dec 2009. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  7. ^ La Bolivia autonómica, Los Tiempos (Cochabamba), edición especial, 6 August 2010
  8. ^ Ministerio de Autonomías, "Región Autónoma Chaco Tarijeño Archived 2011-04-28 at the Wayback Machine."
  9. ^ "Las autonomías indígenas avanzan a paso lento per seguro, entre consensos e interrogantes" Diálogos en Democracia, 21 March 2010 (Supplement to Pulso Bolivia).
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