Overview

• Election authorities finalized the count and triggered the country’s first presidential runoff under the 2009 rules, scheduled for October 19.
• Nearly one in five ballots were intentionally spoiled after Morales urged a null vote following his disqualification from the race.
• MAS figure Andrónico Rodríguez finished fourth with 8.5% in a stark setback for the once-dominant leftist party.
• Businessman Samuel Doria Medina placed third with 19.6% and immediately endorsed Rodrigo Paz.
• The vote unfolded during soaring inflation near 25% and fuel shortages, and analysts view Bolivia’s rightward turn as part of a wider regional shift.