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5h ago

Morales Promotes 'Nulo' Protest as Bolivia’s Right-Wing Frontrunners Surge

Electoral rules exclude invalid ballots from the count, ensuring the result stands despite Morales’s push to delegitimize a vote that could end two decades of socialist rule.

A woman walks past a campaign center for supporters of former President Evo Morales who are in favor or a null vote in the upcoming presidential election in El Alto, Bolivia, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Stickers of former President Evo Morales sit on a table at a campaign center for supporters in favor of a null vote in the upcoming presidential elections in El Alto, Bolivia, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
A supporter of former President Evo Morales holds a sign that reads in Spanish: "If Evo is not on the ballot, my vote is null" ahead of August presidential elections, in El Alto, Bolivia, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Overview

  • Two right-wing candidates, Samuel Doria Medina and former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, each lead polls at around 20 percent and look poised to end 20 years of socialist governance.
  • Morales is sheltering in his Chapare stronghold to evade arrest on trafficking and sexual abuse charges while directing supporters to spoil or deface ballots under the ‘Nulo’ campaign.
  • The ex-president has vowed to lead mass protests if the election outcome stands, warning he will “take the fight to the streets” with his base.
  • Under Bolivian law, spoiled and blank ballots are removed from the final tally and cannot trigger a rerun, so a surge in ‘Nulo’ votes has no formal impact on the official result.
  • A severe economic crisis marked by acute shortages of dollars, fuel and subsidized staples and inflation nearing 25 percent has eroded support for the ruling MAS party.