III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 447 

Expressing serious concern about widespread irregularities in Bolivia’s October 20, 2019, general elections and supporting the convening of new 

elections in Bolivia at the earliest possible date. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 4, 2019 

Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

COONS, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CRUZ, and Mr. GARDNER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

DECEMBER 17, 2019 

Reported by Mr. RISCH, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 

JANUARY 8, 2020 

Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing serious concern about widespread irregularities 

in Bolivia’s October 20, 2019, general elections and supporting the convening of new elections in Bolivia at the 

earliest possible date. 

Whereas Evo Morales was elected as the first indigenous 

president of Bolivia in 2005; 

Whereas, in 2009, Bolivians approved by a vote of more than 

60 percent in a nationwide referendum a new constitution 

that established a limit of two 5-year presidential terms 


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and declared the country a plurinational state in order to 

better reflect Bolivia’s dozens of ethnic groups; 

Whereas, in 2009 and 2014, President Morales won re-election to a second and third term in office with more than 

60 percent of the vote; 

Whereas, in 2016, 51.3 percent of Bolivian voters rejected a 

national referendum on the proposal by the Administration of President Morales to lift presidential term limits; 

Whereas, in 2017, despite the results of the 2016 national 

referendum, President Morales’ political allies in the Bolivian Constitutional Tribunal removed presidential term 

limits; 

Whereas, on October 20, 2019, amid existing concerns over 

the politicization of Bolivia’s electoral commission, Bolivian voters went to the polls for general elections to choose 

a new president, members of the Senate, and members of 

the Chamber of Deputies; 

Whereas, at the invitation of Morales Administration, the Organization of American States (OAS) General Secretariat 

sent an Electoral Observation Mission to Bolivia that was 

comprised of 92 experts and observers from 24 different 

nationalities deployed in the country’s nine departments 

and in three countries in which Bolivian expatriates could 

cast their votes abroad; 

Whereas, on October 20, 2019, Bolivian electoral authorities 

stopped reporting the preliminary vote count for a period 

of 20 hours, subsequently announced preliminary results 

that negated the need for a second-round election, and 

Evo Morales proclaimed himself the winner of the presidential election; 


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Whereas, on October 21, 2019, the OAS Electoral Observation Mission in Bolivia expressed ‘‘deep concern and surprise at the drastic and hard-to-explain change in the 

trend of the preliminary results revealed after the closing 

of the polls’’; 

Whereas, in the aftermath of the October 20, 2019, general 

elections, violent protests occurred throughout Bolivia in 

response to electoral irregularities and the findings of the 

OAS Electoral Observation Mission; 

Whereas, on October 30, 2019, the Morales Administration 

and the OAS General Secretariat signed an agreement to 

have the OAS conduct an audit of the integrity of the 

October 20, 2019, general elections; 

Whereas, on November 10, 2019, an OAS technical mission 

issued a report on its audit of the integrity of the October 20, 2019, general elections, which included findings 

that— 

(1) the preliminary and final election results were 

transmitted via a flawed computer transmission system 

that was accessed by unauthorized outside computer servers; 

(2) there was a deficient chain of custody for and 

significant irregularities in the electoral tally sheets and 

other electoral records; and 

(3) the audit team could not validate the results of 

the election and therefore recommended a new electoral 

process; 

Whereas, on November 10, 2019, President Morales acknowledged the results of the OAS technical mission, announced that he would call new elections, and stated 

that, ‘‘new national elections will allow the Bolivian peoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR447.ATS SR447

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ple to democratically choose new authorities with their 

vote’’; 

Whereas, in the face of widespread public protests and a deteriorating security environment, President Morales departed Bolivia on November 12, 2019, and was granted 

asylum by the Government of Mexico; 

Whereas, on November 12, 2019, the Bolivian Constitutional 

Tribunal recognized an interim president of Bolivia; 

Whereas the transitional government in Bolivia signed a law 

on November 24, 2019, stating that new elections must 

be held within 120 days after the election of a new Electoral Tribunal by the National Assembly; 

Whereas the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 

(IACHR) stated that protests occurring in Bolivia since 

the October 20, 2019, general election have left 23 people 

dead and more than 700 people injured; and 

Whereas the IACHR has urged the Bolivian state ‘‘to adopt 

all measures necessary to prevent impunity, to protect 

the right to peaceful assembly, and to take urgent action 

to preserve Bolivians’ lives and integrity, as well as ensuring that journalists and autonomous institutions to 

protect and defend human rights can do their job’’: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses concern about the numerous 

3 irregularities that occurred during the October 20, 

4 2019, general elections in Bolivia; 

5 (2) commends the efforts of the OAS Electoral 

6 Observation Mission in Bolivia and supports the 


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1 findings of the OAS electoral audit mission, which 

2 documented numerous irregularities during the Oc3 tober 2019 general elections in Bolivia; 

4 (3) deplores the acts of violence that have oc5 curred in Bolivia in the aftermath of the October 20, 

6 2019, general elections and urges all Bolivians to re7 pudiate violence and to peacefully exercise their 

8 rights of freedom of expression and assembly; 

9 (4) urges Bolivia’s transitional government to 

10 work expeditiously to establish the conditions for an 

11 inclusive, credible, transparent, and democratic elec12 tions as soon as possible in accordance with their 

13 laws and constitution; 

14 (5) encourages the Bolivian state to protect the 

15 human rights of all persons, including indigenous 

16 groups, regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity, 

17 religion, or sex; 

18 (6) encourages the Department of State and 

19 the U.S. Mission to the Organization of American 

20 States to provide all appropriate support to facilitate 

21 the convening of free, fair, and transparent demo22 cratic elections in Bolivia as soon as possible in ac23 cordance with their laws and constitution; 

24 (7) encourages the Organization of American 

25 States to take all necessary steps, in accordance with 


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1 the principles of the Inter-American Democratic 

2 Charter, to ensure respect for the will of Bolivian 

3 voters and the integrity of the new democratic elec4 tions in Bolivia as soon as possible in accordance 

5 with their laws and constitution; and 

6 (8) supports the call by the Permanent Council 

7 of the Organization of American States for Bolivian 

8 authorities to ensure full respect and protection of 

9 human rights and accountability for any violation 

10 thereof. 

Æ 


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