This archive report was first published on 12 November 2019.
On October 20, Bolivians went to the polls to elect a new president, with Evo Morales, Latin America's longest-serving leader, seeking a fourth consecutive term.
His main challenger was Carlos Mesa, a centrist politician who served as president from 2003 to 2005.
Partial results released on October 20 put Morales ahead with 45% of the vote, while Mesa trailed behind with 38%.
However, a margin of 10 percentage points was required to avoid a second-round runoff, and the outcome was far from certain.
On October 21, international observers expressed concern over the delayed release of official results, and Mesa accused Morales of cheating to avoid a runoff.
Opposition supporters took to the streets, protesting outside key vote-counting centers in La Paz and other cities.
On October 21, the election authority released more results, showing Morales edging closer to an outright victory with 95% of the votes counted.
However, Organization of American States (OAS) monitors expressed 'deep concern and surprise' at the drastic change in the vote count, and Mesa alleged widespread fraud.
Violence broke out at protests in several cities, with mobs torching electoral offices in Sucre and Potosi.
On October 22, opposition groups called for a nationwide general strike, demanding that democracy and the will of the citizens be respected.
The vice president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal resigned, criticizing the mismanagement of the election count.
On October 23, Morales likened the general strike to a right-wing coup, while Mesa urged his supporters to step up protests and insisted that a second round must take place.
Clashes broke out between rival demonstrators in Santa Cruz, where offices housing the electoral authority were set on fire.
On October 24, Morales declared victory, claiming he had won an outright majority.
However, the election authority later released final results, giving Morales 47.08% of the vote and Mesa 36.52%.
On October 31, the OAS began an audit of the election results, and on November 8, police officers in several Bolivian cities joined the opposition, marching in the streets with them.
On November 10, the OAS announced that it had found many irregularities in its analysis of the election.
Two ministers and the speaker of congress resigned after their homes were attacked, and the commanders of the armed forces and police added their voices to the calls for Morales to step down.
On November 10, Morales announced his resignation in a televised address, saying he was the victim of a 'coup'.
The streets of La Paz erupted in celebration, but violence and vandalism later broke out overnight.
On November 12, Morales was granted political asylum in Mexico and arrived there, vowing to stay in politics.
The constitutional next-in-line, deputy senate speaker Jeanine Anez, pledged to call fresh elections, but for her to be sworn in as interim president, senators had to first reach La Paz, where public transport was virtually paralyzed.
Since the start of the protests, three people had died and more than 250 had been injured.
