Weekly Report - 22 August 2024 (WR-24-33)

There will be no primary elections in Bolivia ahead of next year’s general election, after President Luis Arce promulgated a bill to scrap the primaries so that the electoral authorities can prioritise the holding of long overdue judicial elections and a parallel referendum. Whilst there was a cross-party consensus in favour of calling off the primary elections, the move was heavily criticised by former president Evo Morales (2006-2019), who insists that he is eligible to stand for the ruling left-wing Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) despite being barred due to presidential term limits.