Bolivian president urges future subnational authorities to unite in tackling crisis
La Paz, March 23 (IANS) Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira called on future subnational authorities to work with the central government to address the country’s economic and institutional challenges.
Paz Pereira made this appeal after casting his vote in the southern city of Tarija on Sunday (local time), where elections are being held to choose more than 5,400 officials, including governors, mayors and local legislators for the 2026-2031 term.
“We will work with those elected by the will of the people,” he said, adding that the elections offer an opportunity to strengthen democracy and encourage citizen participation.
He said the current situation requires coordinated efforts among the central government, regional authorities, and the legislature to pursue a common agenda for national recovery, reports Xinhua news agency.
The president also highlighted his administration’s progress in economic management, international engagement, security and anti-corruption efforts.
More than 7.4 million eligible voters were expected to take part in the elections across more than 33,000 polling stations.
Around 250,000 personnel were deployed across the nation to ensure transparency and security in the subnational elections, in which more than 7.4 million citizens were to vote.
According to Carlos Alberto Goitia, a member of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the deployment covered all nine departments and 340 municipalities, where over 5,400 authorities will be elected for the 2026-2031 term.
The deployment includes more than 200,630 electoral jurors, who were assigned to more than 33,000 polling stations, along with temporary staff, police, military personnel and prosecutors.
About 18,000 candidates were running in the elections, reflecting the scale and complexity of the process. Around 17,000 temporary workers supported the preliminary results transmission system to provide early voting trends.
More than 32,000 police officers were deployed to ensure election security, while the armed forces will offer logistical support.
–IANS
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