LA PAZ, Feb 20 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — The President of the Bolivian Electoral Court (TSE), Salvador Romero, denied that the court had disqualified the candidacies of former President Evo Morales and former Foreign Minister Diego Pary in the May 3 general elections.
The local newspaper El Deber published Wednesday that the TSE had disqualified both candidates and cited sources from the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) as the source of the information.
Romero clarified in a press conference that the electoral body has not made any decision on the contested candidacies, and that information on this matter will be made public in accordance with the electoral calendar.
Morales and Pary’s candidacies, running for senator in the departments of Cochabamba and Potosi, respectively, are under observation for failing to comply with the requirement of residence in the country for a minimum uninterrupted period of two years.
Presidential candidate Luis Arce is in the same situation, although El Deber speculated that he could continue to campaign without restrictions.
The TSE’s decision regarding MAS representatives is expected amidst constant complaints of breaches of the law to keep them out of the electoral race.
Last Tuesday, the TSE issued a communiqué questioning the decision of the electoral body to submit the approval or non-approval of the presence of the candidates observed on the ballots to a resolution, which it claimed was based on political reasons rather than technical or legal ones. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
