Bolivia to hold presidential elections in March 2020

Bolivia's interim government has announced that general elections will be held in March 2020, local media reported Sunday.

"We will begin countdown from Dec. 23. We will have four months until April 23 to conclude with the process," said Jerjes Atala, chief of staff of the interim government, according to Caracas-based broadcaster TeleSur.

Winning candidates need more than half of the votes or 40% with a 10-point advantage over the runner up, according to the electoral law of the country.

He recalled that Bolivia's bicameral assembly has 20 days to choose a new election commissioner, who will call for elections within 48 hours.

Bolivia’s self-proclaimed interim president Jeanine Anez approved legislation last week calling for new presidential elections. It prohibits the candidacy of anyone who has served the last two terms consecutively as president, which would exclude former President Evo Morales.

Turmoil in Bolivia began in October, when Morales won a fourth term in office and faced immediate resistance from opposition parties that challenged election results. Protesters took to the streets claiming the ballot was rigged.

After weeks of upheaval, Morales resigned under pressure from the military and moved to Mexico, where he was offered political asylum.

Conservative Senator Anez then proclaimed herself interim president.

But public demonstrations have yet to subside, with mostly rural and indigenous pro-Morales supporters taking to the streets, including La Paz, as well as Sacaba and Cochabamba, since he left the country saying his ouster was a coup.

Anez government threatens Morales with prison sentence if he is to return to the country.