Bolivia faces pivotal election

Rightwing candidates lead polling ahead of a fragmented left as Bolivia endures its worst economic crisis in four decades

Bolivia tests two-decade socialist rule amid economic crisis

Bolivians head to the polls in a presidential contest that could end the two-decade rule of the Mas party. Morales helped found Mas in 2005, but he is not a candidate this year and faces an arrest warrant while campaigning from a coca-growing region. Luis Arce, the party’s long-serving figure, decided not to run and backs Eduardo del Castillo, who polls around 2%. The opposition is led by centre-right Samuel Doria Medina and Jorge Quiroga, who run neck-and-neck in early assessments. Morales has urged supporters to cast null votes as a protest, a tactic that has drawn mixed reactions from analysts.

The vote is a test of Bolivia’s political resilience. The left is deeply fractured after Andrónico Rodríguez left Mas to join a broader left coalition, weakening a unified challenge to the right. Voters face an economy hit hard by shortages, inflation, and dollar scarcity, making the ballot a verdict on who can manage the crisis rather than which ideology wins. Polling reliability remains questionable, adding to uncertainty about whether a clear winner will emerge or a runoff will decide the presidency. The result could reshape parliament as well and influence how future reforms are negotiated.

Highlights

The vote will steer Bolivia through a delicate moment where every ballot counts.