Votes threaten to compound Bolivia political turmoil

Significance The electoral authorities will nevertheless need to organise judicial elections, set for December. They may also face the task of staging a three-issue referendum before year-end. President Luis Arce’s referendum proposal seems intended primarily to buy time for his embattled government. Impacts The elimination of primaries should help to keep the election timetable on course. Arce seems likely to push his claim to be the presidential candidate for the MAS. Morales will seek to mobilise his supporters to defy a legal ban on his candidacy. The wording of the referendum may itself prove contentious.