Morales is Bolivia’s first indigenous head of state and has been in power for a decade, thanks in large part to support from indigenous groups and grassroots organizations in one of the Americas’ poorest countries.
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“We ask the opposition to calm down and respect the results …”
(AP Photo/Nicanor Vasquez). Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, left, casts his ballot at a polling station in Villa 14 de Septiembre, in the Chapare region, Bolivia, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016.
The ballot measure in Sunday’s referendum was voted down 51 percent to 49 percent, with 99.5 percent of the ballots counted, a margin of just over 150,000 votes.
Exit polls, however, had indicated a much closer result – though still an overall “no” – and Morales said it was too early to know the final outcome.
“I fear that the MAS (Morales” Movement to Socialism party) will begin warring internally”, he said, adding that the opposition, which had coalesced around the anti-Morales “no’ movement, needed to find a new, positive focus.
He said a right-wing conspiracy was “trying to make disappear by sleight of hand the rural vote that favours Morales”, but provided no evidence to back the claim.
The referendum result prompted celebrations in Santa Cruz, where criticism of Morales has been fiercest, and the “no” vote won by a wider margin.
Again re-elected in 2014: He was able to run again despite the 2009 constitution limiting presidents to two consecutive terms in office.
Eusebio Condori, a retired schoolteacher, said he voted “no” because the scandal and the deaths “confirm that this government doesn’t have a plan for Bolivia, only for itself”.
In the past, Morales had been widely credited with spreading Bolivia’s resource wealth and empowering its indigenous majority.
The unprecedented economic boom over which Mr Morales presided, in which gross domestic product per capita rose by almost one-third, has now waned. Economists say Morales leaned heavily on extractive industries to pay for populist programs and failed to diversify the economy.
Samuel Doria Medina-defeated twice by Morales in presidential elections-said: “We have recovered democracy and the right to choose”.
But despite all that, the unmarried Morales has been hurt by an alleged influence-peddling scandal in which it emerged that his ex-girlfriend was an executive at CAMC, a Chinese firm that has won contracts worth 6 million from the Bolivian state.
Alejandro Perez, a 30-year-old independent lawyer, said he voted “yes” because “we’ve got to ensure continuity”.
Morales denied any impropriety and claimed he last saw the woman in 2007.
Judicial corruption has been endemic and press freedom suffered as major news outlets were purchased by people friendly to the government. They want cleaner, more competitive politics, he said.
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While the opposition views the referendum as a victory, numerous president’s allies wonder who would lead the nation after Morales steps down.
