LA PAZ, Bolivia — A Bolivian court on Monday rejected a legal appeal by former president Evo Morales, deeming him ineligible to run for a Senate position in an October election re-run of a voided vote late last year.
Mr. Morales cannot be a Senate candidate for his Movement for Socialism party because he does not meet the residency requirements, Judge Alfredo Jaimes told local media.
Mr. Morales, Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, held power for 14 years before stepping down last year when a disputed election sparked widespread protests. Jeanine Añez has served as interim president since Mr. Morales resigned last November.
The former president, now living in exile in Argentina, was barred from running for president again in the next general election, which was initally scheduled for May but has been delayed until Oct. 18 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The court’s decision upholds a previous block on Mr. Morales’s candidacy by Bolivia’s electoral tribunal in February and cannot be appealed.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
