The lawyers of the former president of Bolivia Evo Morales (2006-2019) affirmed this Wednesday that the former president is qualified to be a candidate in the 2025 presidential elections, despite a recent constitutional ruling that confirmed that re-election in Bolivia It should not be greater than two continuous or discontinuous mandates.
“We remain firm in the conviction that comrade Evo Morales is fully qualified”the lawyer mentioned Cecilia Urquieta accompanied by three other jurists in Peace.
Urquieta questioned the statements made the day before by the president of the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE), Oscar Hassenteufelwho mentioned that this body will comply with the constitutional ruling of December last year, which was recently ratified, which established the impediment to indefinite reelection.
The constitutional ruling mentions that in Bolivia the president and vice president can only be elected and serve for two terms, whether continuous or discontinuous, and that indefinite reelection does not exist and “is not a human right.”
While last week, a room in the Plurinational Constitutional Court (TCP) issued a ruling that confirmed that the authorities of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches can be elected for two terms “whether continuous or discontinuous without the possibility of extending to a third term.”
This affects Evo Morales’ chances of being a candidate again since he governed Bolivia three times (2006-2009, 2010-2014 and 2015-2019).
In this regard, lawyer Urquieta reiterated that the December 2023 ruling “does not touch the bottom line” of the presidential re-election since it was made within the framework of another legal measure.
While in the case of the last award confirming that sentence, signed by the magistrates Rene Espada y Gonzalo Hurtadoconsidered that it was carried out “outside the constitutional procedure.”
Urquieta accused the two magistrates of “failing beyond what the Constitution says” and of making an “erroneous (and) malicious interpretation of the advisory opinion to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IDH Court) which dictated that indefinite reelection “is not a human right.”
The jurist mentioned that indefinite reelection is “permanence in office for more than two terms,” but that she does not speak of discontinuous reelection, so Morales would be “fully qualified” to be a candidate again.
Morales’ lawyers also objected that the award comes from two judges who extended their mandate and that of other high courts in Bolivia, who were due to cease their duties at the beginning of this year, and that they consider illegitimate.
Morales’ candidacy is a factor that aggravates the tension in the ruling party Movement to Socialism (MAS) which is divided into two sides, some who support the former president and others who support the president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, due to the internal struggles that began at the end of 2021.
The Arce bloc and the Morales bloc are also at odds for control of the MAS and the Government. EFE (I)
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