Bolivia conducts contentious judicial elections amidst voter indifference and political maneuvering. The effect of the 2025 presidential election looms.
- Candidates utilize innovative methods to persuade voters.
- Despite political manipulations, voters remain apathetic.
Campaigning for the judicial election on Sunday is illegal in La Paz, but candidates have devised innovative solutions.
Some paint their faces on corn puffs, while others insert phrases inside voting guides, hoping to persuade people unfamiliar with the various contenders.
Bolivia is the only country that elects top judges, with Mexico following suit in a contentious move. Former President Evo Morales and former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pushed for these elections as a way to combat corruption and enhance democracy.
However, Bolivian people are apathetic, seeing the process as politicizing the courts rather than maintaining impartiality.
“I’ll cast a coin,” expressed 25-year-old Marisol Nogales, reflecting the sentiment of the electorate. The system, which replaced qualification-based nominations over a decade ago, has sparked criticism from academics and judges throughout the globe, who warn of political control and reduced checks and balances.
Even Bolivia’s leading court authorities struggle to justify the procedure. Francisco Vargas, the deputy president of Bolivia’s electoral tribunal, told the Associated Press that the election has become “very litigious, very controversial.”
This year’s election, which was postponed by President Luis Arce due to a power struggle with Morales, has further eroded confidence.
The Constitutional Court, filled with Arce’s loyalists, postponed the vote, which was originally scheduled for late 2023, heightening tensions.
Both leaders see the court’s power as critical to their political survival. Arce blamed the delay on party disagreements, while Morales supporters accused him of unlawfully extending the terms of sympathetic judges.
Sunday’s partial election, with just four of nine seats up for grabs, complicates matters. Critics claim that the incumbent justices have undue influence, influencing Bolivian democracy in worrisome ways. Previous elections in 2011 and 2017 had poor participation, with many voters casting null or blank ballots, doubting the validity of the chosen judges.
Morales’ effort to obtain a fourth term in 2016, despite a two-term restriction, resulted in a disputed court verdict, which finally led to his collapse.
Morales now faces legal challenges from the court that he helped build. Recent moves, including an arrest warrant and extradition procedures, have stretched his political position.
Vargas accepts Bolivia’s unique method but admits that it varies greatly from other nations having judicial elections. A delegation, led by Claudia Sheinbaum, is closely monitoring Bolivia’s election.
When asked whether Mexico should follow Bolivia’s example, Vargas smiled, implying the intricacies and possible complications.