A constitutional referendum was held in Bolivia on Sunday, 21 February 2016. The proposed constitutional amendments would have allowed the president and vice president to run for a third consecutive term under the 2009 Constitution (which would be a fourth consecutive term, including his pre-2009 term). The proposal was voted down by a 51.3% majority.

Background

Article 168 of the 2009 constitution allows the President and Vice-President to put themselves forward for re-election only once, limiting the number of terms to two. The governing party, the Movement for Socialism (MAS) sponsored an effort to amend this article. The referendum was authorized by a combined session of the

Plurinational Legislative Assembly The Plurinational Legislative Assembly ( es, Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional) is the national legislature of Bolivia, placed in La Paz, the country's seat of government. The assembly is bicameral, consisting of a lower house (the Chambe ...

on 26 September 2015, by a vote of 112 to 41.La ALP sancionó la Ley de Reforma parcial de la CPE
Vice President of BoliviaBolivia passes law to allow Morales to run for fourth term
Reuters, 25 September 2015 Law 757, which convenes the February referendum, was passed 113 to 43, and was promulgated on 5 November 2015. Bolivian elections are conducted under an "act of good governance," which prohibits electoral propaganda in the days before an election, and tightly regulates motorized transport. It was illegal to buy or consume alcohol for 48 hours prior to the referendum to ensure voters took note of their decision. A successful 'yes' vote would have allowed President

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to c ...

and Vice President

Álvaro García Linera Álvaro Marcelo García Linera (; born 19 October 1962) is a Bolivian politician, sociologist, marxist theoretician, and former guerilla who served as the 38th vice president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. A member of the Movement for Socia ...

to run for a fourth term in office in 2019. Morales had already been elected three times. The first time, in 2006, is not counted as it was before the two term limit was introduced by the 2009 constitution.Consulta para habilitar a Evo está en marcha; El MAS ‘se juega la vida’
La Razón, 6 November 2015

Disinformation by Referendum Opponents

In the run-up to the referendum, opponents claimed that Morales had fathered an out-of-wedlock child named "Ernesto Fidel Morales" after Ernesto "Che" Guevera and Fidel Castro. The story was "mostly fake news." There had been a relationship, but never a child, and the woman had borrowed a child from her aunt to present to the press in support of the false allegations. Referendum supporters claim that the allegations hurt Morales in the polls.

Opinion polls

Results

Aftermath

In September 2017, the Movement for Socialism applied to the

Plurinational Constitutional Court The Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal ( es, Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional) is a national court in Bolivia charged with adjudicating the constitutionality of laws, government power, and treaties in accordance with the country's 2009 Con ...

to abolish term limits. In November the court ruled in favour of their abolition, citing the

American Convention on Human Rights The American Convention on Human Rights, also known as the Pact of San José, is an international human rights instrument. It was adopted by many countries in the Western Hemisphere in San José, Costa Rica, on 22 November 1969. It came into for ...

. The ruling allowed Morales to run for re-election in the

2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in coun ...

References

{{Evo Morales Bolivia 2016 in Bolivia Referendums in Bolivia Reelection