2009 Bolivian general election


General elections were held in Bolivia on December 6, 2009, following a constitutional referendum held on 25 January 2009. The election was initially expected to be held in 2010. Voters elected:
The five departments which had not already done so all voted to have departmental autonomy. Eleven municipalities voted to have indigenous autonomy, out of twelve holding such referendums. One province voted to have regional autonomy.

Presidential candidates

Under the new constitution, all previous terms will not be considered for term limits. If any candidate fails to win over 50% of the vote and another candidate is within 10%, a second round will be held. It was the first time that an incumbent president ran for reelection. The presidential candidates were:

Opinion polls

Polling prior to the election indicated that incumbent Evo Morales enjoyed a 55% approval rating, as well as an 18-point lead over his closest challenger Manfred Reyes Villa. As Morales was expected to cruise to reelection, the local press reported that Villa has already purchased an airplane ticket to the United States for the 7th.

Results

Incumbent President Evo Morales won a convincing victory, with 64% of the vote. His party, Movement for Socialism, won a two-thirds majority in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

President


Autonomy referendums

Departments

The five departments which had not already done so all voted to become autonomous departments. Each will have to produce a statute of autonomy. They were:

Regional autonomy

The Gran Chaco Province in Tarija held a referendum on regional autonomy, which was approved by 80.4% of voters.

Municipalities

The following municipalities voted on whether to become autonomous municipalities according to the Indigenous Originary Campesino Autonomy provisions of the 2009 Constitution. Eleven voted yes:
One municipality voted no:
  • Curahuara de Carangas Municipality