Bolivia court bars former leader Evo Morales from running for office 

Bolivia’s constitutional court has barred former President Evo Morales from running again for elected office, preventing him from contesting next year’s presidential election.

The ruling, made public on Friday, also reaffirms a 2023 court order that a president cannot serve more than two terms, whether consecutive or not, and “without the possibility of extending it to a third term”.

Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, Morales led the country from 2006 to 2019 and was extremely popular until he tried to bypass the constitution and seek a fourth term.

The leftist won that vote but was forced to resign in 2019 amid deadly protests over alleged election fraud and fled the country.

He returned after his former ally Luis Arce won the presidency in 2020. But since then, the two men have struggled for control over the governing party, Movement Toward Socialism (MAS).

The constitutional court’s ruling came in response to a parliamentarian’s request to clarify doubts about its December 2023 decision.

It also comes about a month into protests by Morales’s supporters, who have blocked roads, taken soldiers hostage and called for Arce to resign.

The protests began on October 14 after prosecutors charged Morales with statutory rape over his alleged relationship with a 15-year-old girl while in office.

Morales has denied the allegations, saying they were brought by Arce’s government to prevent him from making a political comeback.

Political tensions have further intensified in recent weeks after Morales accused the government of attempted assassination in late October.

In response, the Arce administration accused Morales of staging an attempt on his own life, saying the shots fired at his car came after he tried to run a police checkpoint.

The 65-year-old former president has not yet commented on the latest court decision.

But his lawyer, Orlando Ceballos, called the decision politically motivated and an attempt to “disqualify” Morales.

Bolivia will hold its next presidential election in August 2025.

“Without a doubt this ushers in a new era of politics in Bolivia,” opposition legislator Marcelo Pedrazas told journalists on Friday after the decision was issued.

“In 2025, we’ll have an election without Evo Morales on the ballot.”

On Friday, legislators loyal to Morales caused chaos in Congress, shouting and throwing flowers before Arce’s planned yearly address and forcing him to deliver his speech from the presidential palace.