Bolivia’s electoral board released new data late on Monday that showed President Evo Morales had enough votes to win the hotly contested election, sparking allegations of fraud from the opposition and angry clashes in the streets, APA reports quoting Reuters.
The board had halted a preliminary vote count late on Sunday with results then showing the election going to a second round run-off. The abrupt pause had fueled concerns among election monitors and foreign governments over potential vote tampering.
After the 24-hour gap, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) updated its count to show Morales with a wider lead of 46.85% of votes to rival Carlos Mesa’s 36.73%, just enough to give him the 10-point lead needed to win in the first round.
As protesters scuffled with police in the streets of the capital, La Paz, outside the counting venue, runner-up Mesa slammed the results as “shameful” and said he would not recognize them.
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