European Union Reinforced Election Expert Mission BOLIVIA 2020 Final Report General Elections 18 October 2020 European Union Reinforced Election Expert Mission BOLIVIA 2020 FINAL REPORT General Elections 18 October 2020 EU Election Expert Missions are independent from the institutions of the European Union. The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of the European Union. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................ 3 2. SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 4 3. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 7 4. POLITICAL CONTEXT ......................................................................................................... 7 5. LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND ELECTORAL SYSTEM .................................................... 9 5.1 Electoral system ................................................................................................................ 9 5.2 Legal framework ............................................................................................................... 9 6. ELECTION ADMINISTRATION ....................................................................................... 11 6.1 Structure and composition .............................................................................................. 11 6.2 Transparency in decision-making ................................................................................... 11 6.3 Operational aspects of the elections ................................................................................ 12 6.4 Enforcement of election laws ......................................................................................... 14 7. VOTER REGISTRATION .................................................................................................... 14 7.1 The right to vote .............................................................................................................. 14 7.2 Voter registration ............................................................................................................ 15 8. REGISTRATION OF CANDIDATES ................................................................................. 15 9. ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND PRE-ELECTION ENVIRONMENT ............................ 18 9.1 Freedom to campaign ...................................................................................................... 18 9.2 Electoral violence ........................................................................................................... 18 9.3 Campaign messages ........................................................................................................ 19 9.4 Use of state resources ..................................................................................................... 19 9.5 Presidential debates ......................................................................................................... 20 10. CAMPAIGN FINANCE ..................................................................................................... 20 11. MEDIA . ……………………………………………………………………………………22 11.1 Media freedoms .............................................................................................................. 22 11.2 Access to media during the election campaign ............................................................... 23 11.3 EU EEM media monitoring ............................................................................................ 24 12. DIGITAL COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA ............................................... 26 12.1 Landscape ....................................................................................................................... 26 12.2 Legal framework ............................................................................................................. 26 12.3 EU EEM social media monitoring .................................................................................. 27 13. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN ............................................................... 29 14. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES ................................ 30 1 15. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF VULNERABLE GROUPS .................................. 31 15.1 Political participation of persons with disabilities .......................................................... 31 15.2 Political participation of LGBTI groups ......................................................................... 32 16. NATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY AND INTERNATIONAL OBSERVATION............... 33 16.1 National Civil Society ..................................................................................................... 33 16.2 International Observation ............................................................................................... 33 17. POLLING, COUNTING, AND TABULATION OF RESULTS .................................... 34 17.1 Voting ............................................................................................................................. 34 17.2 Counting .......................................................................................................................... 35 18. RESULTS AND POST-ELECTION ENVIRONMENT ................................................. 35 18.1 Decision to cancel the preliminary results system (DIREPRE) ..................................... 35 18.2 Quick Counts .................................................................................................................. 36 18.3 Tabulation of results protocols and final results ............................................................. 36 18.4 Statistical anomalies and “voto comunitario” ................................................................ 37 18.5 Analysis of results ........................................................................................................... 38 18.6 Post-election environment .............................................................................................. 38 19. IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIOUS EU EOM RECOMMENDATIONS ................ 39 20. RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................... 41 21. ANNEX I – EU EEM MEDIA MONITORING RESULTS ............................................ 54 22. ANNEX II – EU EEM SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING RESULTS .......................... 64 23. ANNEX III – FINAL RESULTS ....................................................................................... 68 A. Valid, invalid votes and turnout ............................................................................. 68 B. Number of votes and seats by party ....................................................................... 68 C. Winning party by region ......................................................................................... 69 2 1. ACRONYMS ACHR – American Convention on Human Rights ADN – Acción Democrática Nacionalista ANPB – National Association of Bolivian Journalists APLP – Journalists Association of La Paz BOB – Pesos Bolivianos CC – Comunidad Ciudadana CEDAW – Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women COVID-19 – Corona Virus Disease 2019 CRPD – Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities DIREPRE – Preliminary Results System EU EEM – European Union Election Expert Mission EU EOM – European Union Election Observation Mission FELCC – Special Force on the Fight Against Crime FPV – Frente para la Victoria GDPR – European General Data Protection Regulation IBC – Bolivian Institute for the Blind ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICTs – Information and Communication Technologies ID – Identity Document IDEA – Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance ILO – International Labour Organization LGBTI – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex LOP – Political Organisations Law MAS-IPSP – Movimiento al Socialismo–Instrumento Político por la Soberanía de los Pueblos MERCOSUR – Southern Common Market NGO – Non-governmental organization OAS – Organisation of American States OCV – Out-of-country voting OEP – Plurinational Electoral Body OHCHR – Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights PAN-BOL – Partido de Acción Nacional Boliviano RTP – Radio Televisión Popular SERECI – Civil Registry Service SIPRUNPCD – National Registry of Persons with Disabilities SIFDE – Servicio Intercultural de Fortalecimiento Democrático TEDs – Departmental Electoral Tribunals TSE – Supreme Electoral Tribunal UK – United Kingdom UN – United Nations UNASUR – Union of South American Nations UNCAC – United Nations Convention against Corruption UNDP – United Nations Development Programme UNIORE – Inter-American Union of Electoral Organisations USA – United States of America UTF – Technical Oversight Unit 3 2. SUMMARY The 18 October 2020 repeat general elections in Bolivia were credible and reflected the free will of the people. The elections granted a much-needed legitimacy to a new Government and Legislative Assembly. These were competitive elections in which contestants campaigned freely, despite violent incidents and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) generally enjoyed stakeholder