The 2005 Bolivian presidential election was held on December 18, 2005. The two main candidates were Evo Morales of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) Party, and Jorge Quiroga, leader of the Democratic and Social Power (PODEMOS) Party and former head of the Acción Democrática Nacionalista (ADN) Party. Morales won the election with 54% of the vote, an absolute majority; Quiroga conceded defeat, and Morales was sworn in on January 22, 2006, for a five-year term. Morales' win marks Bolivia's first election of an indigenous head of state. December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, the countrys first Amerindian president. ... The Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS) is a Bolivian leftist party led by Evo Morales, founded in 1987. ... Jorge Fernando Tuto Quiroga Ramírez (born May 5, 1960) was President of Bolivia from August 7, 2001 to August 6, 2002. ... ADN logo Nationalist Democratic Action (in Spanish: Acción Democrática Nacionalista) is a right-wing party in Bolivia led by Jorge Quiroga. ... Absolute majority is a supermajoritarian voting requirement which is stricter than a simple majority. ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The National Electoral Court (CNE) should announce the official and final results of the election on January 12, 2006, although they are expected to be announced earlier, presumably on December 29. January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 2 days remaining. ...

Background

Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America and has one of the highest rates of poverty in the Western Hemisphere with nearly 70% living below the poverty line and 14.4% living on less than one U.S. dollar a day. A landlocked country is one that has no coastline. ...

The total population is about 9.1 million with 3.7 million citizens registered to vote. About 30% of the electorate are Quechua-speaking and 25% are Aymara. Voting is compulsory for all Bolivians over the age of 18. Quechua (Runasimi in Quechua; Runa, People + Simi, speech, literally mouth) is a Native American language of South America. ... Aymara is the name of a South-American people and of their language. ... Compulsory voting is a practice that requires citizens to vote in elections or to attend a polling place and get their name crossed off the electoral roll. ...

Bolivians abroad were not able to take part. Bolivia's ethnic distribution is estimated to be 33% Quechua and 30% Aymara Amerindians, 25% Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) and 12% European. A Sioux in traditional dress including war bonnet, circa 1908. ... Mestizo (Portuguese, Mestiço; French, Métis: from Late Latin mixticius, from Latin mixtus, past participle of miscere, to mix) is a term of Spanish origin used to designate the people of mixed European and indigenous non-European ancestry. ...

In recent years there has been high political instability in the country with five Presidents in four years. Much of the recent instability dates back to the economic reforms otherwise known as "shock therapy" implemented by President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada whereby many formerly public utilities were privatized. In economics, shock therapy refers to the sudden release of price and currency controls, withdrawal of state subsidies, and immediate trade liberalization within a country. ... Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada Bustamante (born July 1, 1930), familiarly known as Goni, is a former two-term president of Bolivia. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or, especially in India, disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector. ...

These reforms would ultimately lead to what is referred to as the First Bolivian Gas War in October 2003 where protesters, many of them of indigenous descent, essentially forced the resignation of Sánchez de Lozada. Carlos Mesa would temporarily serve as interim President. The Bolivian Gas War, also called the First Bolivian Gas War (after the 2005 Bolivia protests began to be referred to as the Second Bolivian Gas War) was a conflict in Bolivia centering around the exploitation of the countrys vast natural gas reserves. ... Carlos Diego Mesa Gisbert (born August 12, 1953) was the President of Bolivia from October 17, 2003 until his resignation on June 6, 2005. ...

In his short year in office, Mesa would hold a national referendum on the prospect of the nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry which he claimed to have won. Critics however said that the questions were vague and ambiguous with regard to outright nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry. Bolivia held a referendum on the future of its natural gas reserves on Sunday, 18 July 2004. ... In chemistry, a hydrocarbon is a cleaning solution consisting only of carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). ...

In May 2005 the Second Bolivian Gas War began after Congress said it would raise taxes on foreign companies from 18% to 32%. The unions, led by Evo Morales, felt the law did not go far enough and effectively shut down the country, blockading major roads and cutting off the food supplies of several large cities. The Bolivia natural gas protests in early 2005 are in many ways a continuation of the 2003 Bolivia Gas War, and some refer to the 2005 protests as a Second Bolivian Gas War. ... Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, the countrys first Amerindian president. ...

In June 2005 the protests ultimately led to Mesa's resignation. Supreme Court Chief Justice Eduardo Rodríguez assumed the position of President of the Republic after the presidents of both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies declined the position and Rodríguez was fourth in line of succession. Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé (born March 2, 1956) is the current president of the transitional government of Bolivia; prior to that appointment he was the chief justice of the Supreme Court. ...

Viewed as an apolitical figure, Rodríguez was welcomed by protesters and called for the presidential elections slated to take place in 2007 to be brought forward to December 2005.

Results

Juan Evo Morales Ayma (born October 26, 1959 in Orinoca, Oruro), popularly known as Evo (IPA: ), is the President of Bolivia, the countrys first Amerindian president. ... Alvaro Marcelo García Linera is a Bolivian politician with the Movement Toward Socialism party. ... The Movement toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo, MAS) is a leftist party led by Evo Morales. ... Jorge Fernando Tuto Quiroga Ramírez (born May 5, 1960) was President of Bolivia from August 7, 2001 to August 6, 2002. ... MNR logo The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (Spanish: Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario) is a political party in Bolivia. ... Felipe Quispe (left) and Evo Morales. ... The Indigenous Pachakuti Movement (Movimiento Indígena Pachakuti) is a political party in Bolivia. ... NFR logo The New Republican Force (Nueva Fuerza Republicana) is a center-right personalist party in Bolivia. ...

External links

• National Electoral Court of Bolivia (in Spanish)
• BBC "Crucial Choice for Bolivian Voters"
• BBC "Q&A: Bolivian Elections"
• CBC "Left-wing candidate favoured to win Bolivian election"
• NPR's Weekend Edition: "Bolivians Vote for President"
• NPR's All Things Considered "Bolivia Prepares for Presidential Election"
• MAS Official Campaign Site