The suspension of two magistrates from the seven-member plurinational constitutional court (TCP) for alleged negligence of duties and malfeasance is fuelling calls for an overhaul of the judiciary. Reforming the judiciary is one of the few issues on which the presidential candidates competing in the 12 October elections agree [WR-14-27]. The move against the magistrates – the first sitting justices elected in unprecedented national elections in October 2011 to be suspended – has not only fanned concerns that the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) government led by President Evo Morales is seeking to undermine the independence of the judiciary. It has also exposed plans by the MAS to amend the 2009 constitution to allow for indefinite consecutive re-election.End of preview - This article contains approximately 742 words.
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