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Noviembre 01, 2005

Rodriguez' Decree - Elections Scheduled for December 18

Obviously Congress was incapable to come up with a consensus among the countless proposals on the table in order to save the elections. This evening President Eduardo Rodriguez emitted a presidential decree. According to the Census, Santa Cruz gains three seats and Cochabamba gains one additional seat.

As a result, La Paz loses two seats, Oruro loses one and Potosi loses the one seat.

Now there is no excuse for elections not to proceed. Rodriguez, the caretaker interim president, also stated that elections will take place on December 18. The original date of December 4 was deemed logistically impossible by the Electoral Court who said that there was not sufficient time.

Rodriguez appeared on Bolivian television announcing his decision.

"It is extremely difficult to reach an agreement that satisfies all the regions,'' Rodriguez said. ``But Bolivian democracy is in danger if we don't hold elections."

I suspect that the populations in the three cities that lost Congressional seats won't feel much of an effect. It was basically the Congressmen who wanted an excuse to prolong elections in order to stay in the legislature as long as possible. Most Bolivians just wanted some certainty that elections would take place. Now they have it.

Update 1: All three leading Presidential candidates, Evo Morales, Tuto Quiroga and Samuel Doria Medina support the decree. They, too, want the elections to move ahead and this decree guarantees that.