Bolivian President Evo Morales resigns

Bolivia's President Evo Morales has resigned and there will now be a fresh Presidential Election, following nationwide protests about the results from October, where he won an outright majority.

By James Blears

One key factor in the resignation of Evo Morales, is the damning Organization of American States Presidential Election Audit, which revealed major fraud, manipulation and mal practice. Evo Morales who`s been President since 2006 and is the first indigenous President of Bolivia, agrees with the findings and that`s why he`s stepped down. He says it`s to preserve peace. Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and President of the Senate Adriana Salvatierra, have done likewise.

Runner up in the Election and himself a former President Carlos Mesa, has welcomed all of this, also adding that Evo Morales shouldn`t contest the next Election, but this seems unlikely. A much more significant factor in what`s just happened is that Head of the Army General Williams Kaliman advised Evo Morales to take this course of action.

The question now is when will be the next Presidential Election and if can it be achieved without the problems which occurred first time around. For this to happen, the electoral process will need to be improved and reformed.

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