Former Bolivian president Evo Morales reached an electoral section in El Chapare to vote after his campaign for null votes in the presidential election.
Without competing and prevented from forming a political party, Morales, who ruled the country for almost 14 years, remains a powerful force in Bolivia’s political scene.
The former leader emphasized his interpretation of the annulment of vote as a form of political participation.
Morales has been confined to his scam in Chapare since October 2024, when his in the midst of legal challenges and a tense impasse he has described as a potential attempted murder.
Despite moving away from formal politics, Morales’s influence extends to the regions. During his presidency, he expanded the legal cultivation of 12,000 hectares in Los Yungas to 22,000 hectares in cochabamba, ensuring a support base among cocaleiros and consecrating coca as a sacred plant in the 2009 Constitution.
Even when former member of the former Morales party, androno Rodriguez and Eduardo Del Castillo, Morales maintains a strong control over his base, showing his lasting political influence.
The electoral sections opened on Sunday at 8am, local time, and close at 4 pm, with the initial results scheduled for after 21h. Complete official results should be released within seven days. Voters will also elect all 26 senators and 130 deputies, and the authorities will take office on November 8.
