Bolivian vote of confidence referendum, 2008
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bolivia |
 This article is part of the series: |
|
|
|
Other countries · Atlas Politics Portal |
A vote of confidence in President Evo Morales in the form of a referendum will be held in Bolivia on 10 August 2008.[1][2] The vote will determine whether Morales, the Vice President, Álvaro García Linera, and nine governors should stay in office.
[edit] Background
The referendum was initially suggested by Morales in December 2007, but was rejected by the opposition at the time. However, the opposition-controlled Senate, brought back the suggestion following their victory in the Santa Cruz autonomy referendum on 4 May 2008, with Morales agreeing to hold the vote. If more than 53.74% (Morales' winning margin in the 2005 presidential election) of voters and more than the 1.5 million voters who elected him oppose the president, then fresh elections will be called.[1] Similar margins apply for the governors, though their margin of victory was decidedly lower in many cases; for instance, the governor of La Paz Department, José Luis Paredes Muñoz, was elected with only 38% of the vote, which would make his recall much easier to accomplish.[3]
Morales has stated that if he stays in office, he will use the referendum result as a springboard for more reforms – for instance, setting a date for the constitutional referendum which would grant more rights to Bolivia's poor indigenous population.[4]
According to polls from May 2008, Morales would easily win reelection if new polls were held right now.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Bolivians to hold confidence vote BBC News, 9 May 2008
- ^ BBC NEWS | Americas | Morales sets Bolivia recall date
- ^ Morales setzt Referendum über seine Amtsführung an (International, NZZ Online)
- ^ BBC NEWS | Americas | Morales 'set on Bolivia reforms'
- ^ Morales Would Defeat Opponents Again in Bolivia: Angus Reid Global Monitor
|
|||||||||||||||||
