Bolivia: Results of Judicial Elections To Be Known in Midweek
Bolivian woman casts her vote, Dec. 15, 2024. X/ @ELSOLDESANTIAGO
December 16, 2024 Hour: 10:07 am
There was a high voter turnout, unlike the two previous judicial elections in which blank or spoiled votes predominated.
On Sunday, Bolivia’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced that the final results of the judicial elections will be ready by midweek.
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“We are confident that the seven-day legal deadline will not need to be used and that, within three days at most, we will already have the results of this election,” said TSE President Oscar Hassenteufel, who stated that Sunday’s elections proceeded normally, without any irregular incidents.
“The reports indicate there was high voter turnout, and we are hopeful it was positive, reversing the trend toward blank or null votes that has occurred in the previous two elections,” Hassenteufel added.
Meanwhile, electoral official Gustavo Avila reported that by 8:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, the electoral courts in Bolivia’s nine regions had received a total of 1,889 election reports. Local media reported long lines in various regions as people sought to obtain voting exemption certificates for different reasons.
Hassenteufel acknowledged that adequate measures were not taken to ensure the rapid and timely issuance of these documents but announced he would request local authorities to prioritize the process in the coming days.
The judicial elections were preceded by a turbulent process, delayed for a year and politicized due to the extension of the terms of Constitutional Plurinational Tribunal (TCP) magistrates.
While casting his vote in the morning, Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales stated that he voted to fulfill his civic duty but described the process as “illegal” and “unconstitutional” due to the extension of the magistrates’ terms. He also described these elections as “the worst in Bolivia’s history.”
Former Bolivian president Jorge Quiroga also cast his vote but said he neither believes in nor validates the judicial elections. He remarked that these elections “will do nothing to resolve the deep judicial crisis Bolivia has been going through for 15 years.”
Over 7.3 million Bolivians were eligible to vote on Sunday to elect 19 of the 26 magistrates for the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), the Constitutional Plurinational Tribunal (TCP), the Agro-Environmental Court (TA), and the Magistrates’ Council.
These judicial elections were the third since the 2009 Constitution established their occurrence every six years, mandating the popular election of magistrates for the country’s main courts after their prior selection by the Legislature.
The terms of judges elected in 2017 were supposed to end early this year. However, in December 2023, the TCP decided to extend their terms, citing the need to avoid a “power vacuum” in the absence of elections. The 2023 elections could not take place due to legislative issues and numerous legal obstacles that repeatedly delayed the process.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
