General elections were held in Bolivia on 18 December 2005. Evo Morales of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party was elected President of Bolivia with 54% of the vote, the first time a candidate had received an absolute majority since the flawed 1978 elections. Morales was sworn in on 22 January 2006 for a five-year term. The MAS also won a majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and emerged as the largest party in the Senate.
Simultaneously voters elected prefects, the highest executive office in each of Bolivia's nine departments. This was the first time the office had been chosen at the ballot box. Subsequently, departmental elections were held separately from national elections, with the next one held in April 2010.
In the early 2000s there were high levels of political instability across the country, including five presidents in four years. Much of the instability dates back to the economic reforms otherwise known as "shock therapy" implemented by President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada whereby many formerly public utilities were privatized.
These reforms ultimately led to the First Bolivian Gas War in October 2003 where protesters, many of them of indigenous descent, essentially forced the resignation of Sánchez de Lozada. Vice PresidentCarlos Mesa took office as president.
In his year in office, Mesa held a national referendum on the prospect of the nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry which he claimed to have won. Critics however said that the questions were vague and ambiguous with regard to outright nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry.
In May 2005 the Second Bolivian Gas War began after Congress agreed to raise taxes on foreign companies from 18% to 32%. The unions, led by Evo Morales, felt the law did not go far enough and effectively shut down the country, blockading major roads and cutting off the food supplies of several large cities.
In June 2005 the protests ultimately led to Mesa's resignation. Supreme Court Chief Justice Eduardo Rodríguez assumed the position of interim President of the Republic after the presidents of both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies declined the position and Rodríguez was fourth in line of succession.
Viewed as an apolitical figure, Rodríguez was welcomed by protesters and called for the presidential elections slated to take place in 2007 to be brought forward to December 2005.
Electoral systemedit
Voters had two ballots: a national-level ballot to elect the president and the nationally elected members of Congress, and one for members of Congress elected in single-member constituencies in the Chamber of Deputies. Senators and deputies were returned on a departmental basis; senators were elected on a majoritarian basis, with the first-place party receiving two and the second-place party one, while deputies were elected on a mixed-member basis, with district deputies joining list deputies awarded by compensatory proportional representation. However, there was no national distribution of seats.
Voting was compulsory for all Bolivians over the age of 18, but Bolivians living abroad were not able to take part.
Morales claimed his victory marked Bolivia's first election of an indigenous head of state, but this claim generated controversy,[1] due to the number of mestizo presidents who came before him,[2] and was challenged publicly by such figures as Mario Vargas Llosa,[3] who accused Morales of fomenting racial divisions in an increasingly mestizo Latin America.
Referencesedit
^. Bolpress. 2006-01-01. Archived from the original on 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
^Mesa, José, Gisbert, Teresa, Mesa Gisbert, Carlos D. Historia de Bolivia: Segunda Edición corregida y actualizada. Editorial Gisbert. La Paz, 1998.
^"Vargas Llosa: "un nuevo racismo"". BBC Mundo. 2006-01-21.
External linksedit
National Electoral Court of Bolivia (in Spanish) 2008-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
BBC "Crucial Choice for Bolivian Voters"
BBC "Q&A: Bolivian Elections"
CBC "Left-wing candidate favoured to win Bolivian election"
NPR's Weekend Edition: "Bolivians Vote for President"
NPR's All Things Considered "Bolivia Prepares for Presidential Election"
May 08, 2024
2005, bolivian, general, election, general, elections, were, held, bolivia, december, 2005, morales, movement, socialism, party, elected, president, bolivia, with, vote, first, time, candidate, received, absolute, majority, since, flawed, 1978, elections, mora. General elections were held in Bolivia on 18 December 2005 Evo Morales of the Movement for Socialism MAS party was elected President of Bolivia with 54 of the vote the first time a candidate had received an absolute majority since the flawed 1978 elections Morales was sworn in on 22 January 2006 for a five year term The MAS also won a majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and emerged as the largest party in the Senate 2005 Bolivian general election 2002 18 December 2005 2009 Nominee Evo Morales Jorge Quiroga Samuel Doria Medina Party MAS IPSP Podemos National Unity Popular vote 1 544 374 821 745 224 090 Percentage 53 74 28 59 7 80 Results by provincePresident before election Eduardo Rodriguez interim Independent Elected President Evo Morales MAS IPSP Simultaneously voters elected prefects the highest executive office in each of Bolivia s nine departments This was the first time the office had been chosen at the ballot box Subsequently departmental elections were held separately from national elections with the next one held in April 2010 Contents 1 Background 2 Electoral system 3 Results 4 Aftermath 5 References 6 External linksBackground editIn the early 2000s there were high levels of political instability across the country including five presidents in four years Much of the instability dates back to the economic reforms otherwise known as shock therapy implemented by President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada whereby many formerly public utilities were privatized These reforms ultimately led to the First Bolivian Gas War in October 2003 where protesters many of them of indigenous descent essentially forced the resignation of Sanchez de Lozada Vice President Carlos Mesa took office as president In his year in office Mesa held a national referendum on the prospect of the nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry which he claimed to have won Critics however said that the questions were vague and ambiguous with regard to outright nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry In May 2005 the Second Bolivian Gas War began after Congress agreed to raise taxes on foreign companies from 18 to 32 The unions led by Evo Morales felt the law did not go far enough and effectively shut down the country blockading major roads and cutting off the food supplies of several large cities In June 2005 the protests ultimately led to Mesa s resignation Supreme Court Chief Justice Eduardo Rodriguez assumed the position of interim President of the Republic after the presidents of both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies declined the position and Rodriguez was fourth in line of succession Viewed as an apolitical figure Rodriguez was welcomed by protesters and called for the presidential elections slated to take place in 2007 to be brought forward to December 2005 Electoral system editVoters had two ballots a national level ballot to elect the president and the nationally elected members of Congress and one for members of Congress elected in single member constituencies in the Chamber of Deputies Senators and deputies were returned on a departmental basis senators were elected on a majoritarian basis with the first place party receiving two and the second place party one while deputies were elected on a mixed member basis with district deputies joining list deputies awarded by compensatory proportional representation However there was no national distribution of seats Voting was compulsory for all Bolivians over the age of 18 but Bolivians living abroad were not able to take part Results edit nbsp nbsp PartyPresidential candidateVotes SeatsChamber Senate Movement for SocialismEvo Morales1 544 37453 7472 4512 4Social and Democratic PowerJorge Quiroga821 74528 5943 3913 12National Unity FrontSamuel Jorge Doria Medina Auza224 0907 808New1NewRevolutionary Nationalist MovementMichiaki Nagatani Morishita185 8596 477 1 Pachakuti Indigenous MovementFelipe Quispe61 9482 160 600New Republican ForceGildo Angulo Cabrera19 6670 680 250 2Agrarian Patriotic FrontEliceo Rodriguez Pari8 7370 300New0NewSocial Union of the Workers of BoliviaNestor Garcia Rojas7 3810 260New0NewTotal2 873 801100 001300270Valid votes2 873 80192 63Invalid blank votes228 6167 37Total votes3 102 417100 00Registered voters turnout3 671 15284 51Source IFES IFESAftermath editMorales claimed his victory marked Bolivia s first election of an indigenous head of state but this claim generated controversy 1 due to the number of mestizo presidents who came before him 2 and was challenged publicly by such figures as Mario Vargas Llosa 3 who accused Morales of fomenting racial divisions in an increasingly mestizo Latin America References edit Evo indigena o mestizo Bolpress 2006 01 01 Archived from the original on 2007 06 08 Retrieved 2007 07 23 Mesa Jose Gisbert Teresa Mesa Gisbert Carlos D Historia de Bolivia Segunda Edicion corregida y actualizada Editorial Gisbert La Paz 1998 Vargas Llosa un nuevo racismo BBC Mundo 2006 01 21 External links editNational Electoral Court of Bolivia in Spanish Archived 2008 12 01 at the Wayback Machine BBC Crucial Choice for Bolivian Voters BBC Q amp A Bolivian Elections CBC Left wing candidate favoured to win Bolivian election NPR s Weekend Edition Bolivians Vote for President NPR s All Things Considered Bolivia Prepares for Presidential Election MAS Official Campaign Site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2005 Bolivian general election amp oldid 1188936800, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
