Morales declares victory in Bolivia

Bolivian President Evo Morales on Thursday declared himself victor of the weekend election, stirring more anger among his opponents who have protested for days claiming fraud in the vote count, while the U.S., Brazil, Argentina and Colombia joined in calling for Bolivia to hold a runoff between the incumbent and his top challenger.

Electoral authorities, meanwhile, announced late in the day that voting would have to be held again in five spots in the Amazonian Beni region because of irregularities in Sunday’s vote. They said the re-votes to be held Nov. 3 wouldn’t change the outcome, but the development still added to the unrest over a long, contentious tally of ballots.

With 99.99 percent of votes counted, Morales had 47.07 percent to 36.51 percent for former President Carlos Mesa, who finished second in the nine-candidate field. That gave Morales a 10.56-point lead, a little more than a half point over the threshold he needed to win an outright victory and avoid a second-round ballot in December probably against a united opposition.

“We won in the first round,” Morales declared at news conference early in the day, after he first edged over the threshold during the night. The president, the region’s longest-serving leader who is seeking a fourth consecutive term, said he was bolstered by the rural vote.

Morales later backtracked a bit, saying he would be open to a runoff if he fell short of the 10-point lead when official totals were announced.

A communique issued by Colombia’s foreign ministry on behalf of the U.S., Brazil and Argentina said the governments of the four nations “will only recognize results that reflect the will of the Bolivian people.”

The European Union took a similar stand, saying it backed a call by the Organization of American States for a second-round election that could help Bolivia regain its footing after days of sometimes violent protests by opposition supporters angered by the slow vote count and an unexplained 24-hour halt in the release of results.

“The European Union shares the OAS’ assessment that the best option would be to make a runoff to restore trust and ensure full respect for the democratic elections of the Bolivian people,” the EU said in a statement that also called for the parties to refrain from further violence.

There was no comment from Morales about the outsiders’ questions on the fairness of the election’s opening round.