Evo Morales' party names election candidates for Bolivian vote

The party of exiled former Bolivian President Evo Morales has reportedly named the candidates for its ticket in the country's May elections. According to international media reports, former Foreign Minister of Bolivia David Choquehuanca, an Aymara Indian, was picked as the presidential candidate for Movement to Socialism (MAS) party in the vote. Coca farmer Andronico Rodriguez, a disciple of Morales, will join the ticket as the vice-presidential candidate. However, the choice is yet to be rubber-stamped by Morales himself. 

On January 17, Morales also tweeted a document which read that the two were 'pre-candidates' along with two more of close allies, Luis Arce Catacora and Diego Pary Rodriguez. He also posted a picture of himself with the pre-candidates, however, in the picture Rodriguez could not attend the meeting for security reasons. According to reports, senior MAS party officials are also scheduled to meet the coming weekend in Buenos Aires, where Morales is currently living in asylum. 

The tweet read, “Today, in Buenos Aires, in a meeting with the pre-candidate brothers, we have signed the Agreement for the unity and strengthening of the MAS-IPSP”. 

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Choquehuanca is a veteran indigenous politician who was born in the Bolivian highlands and Rodriguez is the vice president of a prominent coca farmer union in the city of Cochabamba. The ticket for May elections have to formalize its participation in the election to the electoral tribunal by February 3 as the country's electoral tribunal set May 3 as the date for fresh election after an Organisation of American States audit found serious irregularities in the way votes were counted in October elections. 

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'Victim of a coup d'etat'

Morales has led bolivia for nearly 14 years. He stepped down on November 10 after a disputed election victory sparked protests and led to allies. The country has since been reportedly under the stewardship of a controversial interim government led by former Senator Jeanine Anez. Morales moved out of Bolivia to accept political asylum in Mexico which damaged its relations with the current Bolivian administration. Earlier, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called former Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales as the “victim of a coup d'etat”. 

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