Bolivians were headed for an unprecedented runoff presidential election following a vote Sunday, August 17, in which a dark-horse centrist, Senator Rodrigo Paz, drew more votes than the right-wing front-runners, although not enough to secure an outright victory, according to early results.
Paz, a moderate who has sought to soften the edges of the opposition's push for tough austerity to rescue Bolivia from economic collapse, will face off against right-wing former President Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, who finished second, on October 19.
With over 91% of the ballots counted on Sunday, Paz had received 32.8% of the votes cast. Quiroga had 26.4%. Candidates needed to surpass 50%, or 40% with a 10-point margin of victory, to avoid a runoff.
After a lackluster campaign overshadowed by a looming economic collapse, millions of Bolivians voted on Sunday for a new president and parliament in elections that could see a right-wing government elected for the first time in over two decades.
The vote, which could spell the end of the Andean nation's long-dominant leftist party, is one of the most consequential for Bolivia in recent times – and one of the most unpredictable. Ballot stations closed at 4 pm local time. Private exit polls, released as vote counting was still underway late Sunday, gave dark-horse centrist candidate Rodrigo Paz a surprise lead over the right-wing front-runners.
In the run-up to Sunday, a remarkable 30% or so of voters remained undecided. Polls consistently showed the two leading right-wing candidates, multimillionaire business owner Samuel Doria Medina and former President Jorge Fernando "Tuto" Quiroga, locked in a virtual dead heat.
The election marks a watershed moment for the Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party, whose founder, charismatic ex-President Evo Morales, rose to power as part of the "pink tide" of leftist leaders that swept into office across Latin America during the commodities boom of the early 2000s. Now shattered by infighting, the party was battling for its survival in Sunday's elections.