The ruling prevents the country’s first indigenous president from running in elections scheduled for August 2025.
Bolivia’s Constitutional Court has barred former President Evo Morales from running for re-election, preventing him from running in next year’s presidential election.
The ruling, made public Friday, states that a president cannot serve more than two terms, consecutive or otherwise, and cannot serve as president “without the possibility of extension to a third term.” The court order has also been reaffirmed.
Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, led the country from 2006 to 2019 and was hugely popular until he tried to seek a fourth term in defiance of the constitution.
The left won that vote, but in 2019 he was forced to resign amid mass protests over allegations of election fraud and fled the country.
He returned after his former ally Luis Arce was elected president in 2020. But since then, the two men have been fighting over control of the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS).
The Constitutional Court’s ruling came in response to a request from members of parliament to clarify questions about the December 2023 ruling.
It has also been about a month since Mr. Morales’ supporters began blocking roads and taking soldiers hostage, demanding Mr. Arce’s resignation.
The protests began on October 14 after prosecutors charged Morales with statutory rape for allegedly having an affair with a 15-year-old girl while in office.
Mr. Morales denied the allegations, saying they were brought in by the Arce government to prevent him from returning to politics.
Political tensions have further escalated in recent weeks after Morales accused the government of an assassination attempt in late October.
In response, Arce’s government accused Morales of staging a suicide attempt, saying shots were fired at his car after he tried to pass through a police checkpoint.
The 65-year-old former president has not yet commented on the latest court ruling.
But his lawyer, Orlando Ceballos, argued that the decision was politically motivated and an attempt to “disqualify” Mr. Morales.
Bolivia’s next presidential election will be held in August 2025.
“Without a doubt, this heralds a new era in Bolivian politics,” opposition lawmaker Marcelo Pedrazas told reporters on Friday after the decision was issued.
“In 2025 there will be elections without Evo Morales.”
Lawmakers loyal to Mr. Morales disrupted Congress on Friday, shouting and throwing flowers before Mr. Arce’s scheduled annual address and forcing him to speak from the presidential palace. Ta.
