Luis Arce underscored nefarious role of the OAS in the 2019 elections and stressed that he would not attend any invitation where the body participates. | Photo: EFE

La Paz, March 7 (RHC)-- The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, lashed out against the Organization of American States (OAS), in the middle of this Sunday's election day, due to its role in the 2019 elections, which resulted in a coup d'état against Evo Morales.

The president referred to the OAS to explain the reasons for his absence in the opening ceremony of the electoral day that took place in the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and to which both the organization and authorities of the Executive Branch were summoned.  In addition, he pointed out that he would not attend invitations where the OAS is present.

"As long as the OAS is present, we will not attend any invitation from the Electoral Body for obvious reasons.  You know the nefarious role of the OAS in the 2019 election, so there is no credibility of the OAS", said Arce when exercising his right to vote.

"After recovering democracy in 2020, today it is up to us to elect our territorial representatives. We go to the polls with the conscience of the people. #Bolivia is a democratic model in times of pandemic." #NoBajemosLaGuardia (Let'sNotDownTheGuard)

- Luis Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) March 7, 2021

The Bolivian president said that the electoral process "consolidates the recovery of democracy that we started in October last year."  "We are going to elect not only authorities but the consolidation of the plurinational State," he added.

In this Sunday's subnational elections, the OAS is one of the many organizations that serves as an observer.  It also went as an observer in 2019 following the call by the then government of Evo Morales to audit that year's elections.  The OAS report supposedly found fraudulent manipulation" in this electoral process, so it determined that its results could not be validated.

In the Miguel de Cervantes Institute, only 10 out of 14 polling stations started voting, with delays, due to the absence of electoral jurors.  It has been opted to invite from among the voters to assume as jurors. 

The Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) repeatedly criticized the performance of the OAS in those elections and accused it of being part of a "coup d'état" against Evo Morales, who then aspired to be reelected on the basis of a court ruling, while the population had rejected the repostulation by referendum.