Bolivia.- The OAS warns of a "climate of conflict" in the Bolivian electoral process.

He attributes this to the confrontation between Arce and Morales as well as to "narratives of fraud" between candidates.

MADRID, 19 (EUROPA PRESS)

The Organization of American States (OAS) observation mission sent to Bolivia for the elections held this Sunday lamented the "climate of conflict" and polarization the country faced during the electoral process, and urged political parties to refrain from "baseless accusations" against other parties ahead of the presidential runoff, scheduled for October 19.

"Distrust and uncertainty regarding the holding of the election marked not only the campaigns, but also the organization of the elections," he stated in a 16-page report in which he attributed the "climate of social and political conflict" to the division of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) and, in particular, to the confrontation between President Luis Arce and former President Evo Morales, whom he singled out for "constant attacks, both verbal and physical, on the electoral authority" following the non-registration of his candidacy.

The Mission, made up of 87 people of 19 nationalities, also warned of "political polarization, unequal access of candidates to the media, questions about electoral institutions, and the sustained circulation of disinformation and misleading content" during an election campaign marked, it said, by "strategies to delegitimize candidates, amplification of narratives of fraud, and threatening publicity."

In this regard, and with a view to the final round of the presidential elections in mid-October, which will pit Rodrigo Paz Pereira of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) against former President Jorge Tuto Quiroga of the Free Alliance, the OAS Mission has asked political parties to "refrain from baseless accusations against other sectors" because this "erodes trust and weakens the democratic process."

More than 7.5 million citizens were called to the polls this Sunday in an election that marks a political turning point in a country dominated for nearly two decades by the MAS party, which Morales launched and whose candidate, former minister Eduardo del Castillo, garnered barely 3 percent of the vote.