Advertisement

Morales gets absolute majority in Bolivia legislature

La Paz (AFP) - In addition to his own reelection, Bolivia's President Evo Morales kept his absolute majority in congress in the October 12 general elections, authorities said Wednesday.

The Supreme Electoral Council said Morales, a socialist in power since 2006 and Bolivia's first indigenous president, won 61.36 percent of the vote against 24.23 percent for his closest rival, wealthy cement magnate Samuel Doria Medina.

The results mean Morales, a staunch critic of the United States, will keep his control over the legislature, which makes it easy for him to pass legislation with little opposition.

His allies in congress secured 89 seats of the 130 in the lower house; and 25 of 36 senate seats, the council said.

Morales will extend his time in office to 14 years, until January 2020, after the Supreme Court ruled last year that his first term was exempt from a new constitution adopted in 2009 that imposed a limit of one reelection for sitting presidents.

After rising to prominence as a union leader fighting for the rights of the country's coca leaf growers, Morales has brought sweeping changes since taking office.

His government has nationalized a broad range of industries, including oil, gas, mining, telecommunications and water; rolled out welfare grants for the elderly, children and expectant mothers; and moved to empower previously marginalized groups, among them the indigenous people who make up 65 percent of the population.

Defying opponents' dire warnings of economic catastrophe, Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in Latin America, has instead seen a boom.

The economy grew 6.8 percent last year and is forecast to grow more than five percent this year, one of the fastest rates in the region.