Evo Morales, the leader of the Movement for Socialism (MAS), was re-elected as president of Bolivia following five days of manual vote count, AFP reported Thursday.
According to AFP report, Morales won with 47.06% support, securing the 10.5% advantage over his next rival, Carlos Mesa of the Citizen Community, who won 36.5% of votes. The 10% advantage was required to declare victory without second-round vote.
The third place was taken by Pastor Chi Huyn Chung of the Christian Democratic Party, who won 8.8% of votes.
Evo Morales's fourth term as president begins in January 2020 and will end in December 2025, Brasil de Fato report says.
The opposition, led by Mesa, dismissed the preliminary results, claiming electoral fraud. However, the Electoral Court explained that a decision was made to suspend reporting electronic vote count and to opt for manual vote count results, which, while slower, is more accurate. The Court said that reporting both electronic and manual vote count would have introduced confusion, which it sought to avoid, the Brasil de Fato report says.
The claims of fraud made by Mesa led to violent protests in several Bolivian cities earlier this week, with protesters setting fire to electoral offices and clashing with police. The police had to use tear gas to repel the protesters.
