2016 Bolivian constitutional referendum

A constitutional referendum was held in Bolivia on Sunday, 21 February 2016. The proposed constitutional amendments would have allowed the president and vice president to run for a third consecutive term under the 2009 Constitution (which would be a fourth consecutive term, including his pre-2009 term).[1] The referendum was voted down by a 51.3% majority.

2016 Bolivian constitutional referendum

21 February 2016
Location	Bolivia
Results
Response Votes % Yes 2,546,135 48.70% No 2,682,517 51.30% Valid votes 5,228,652 95.22% Invalid or blank votes 262,267 4.78% Total votes 5,490,919 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 6,502,069 84.45%
Results by region

Background

A referendum voter

Article 168 of the 2009 constitution allows the President and Vice-President to put themselves forward for re-election only once, limiting the number of terms to two. The governing party, the Movement for Socialism (MAS) sponsored an effort to amend this article. The referendum was authorized by a combined session of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly on 26 September 2015, by a vote of 112 to 41.[2][3] Law 757, which convenes the February referendum, was passed 113 to 43, and was promulgated on 5 November 2015.[4]

Bolivian elections are conducted under an "act of good governance," which prohibits electoral propaganda in the days before an election, and tightly regulates motorized transport. It was illegal to buy or consume alcohol for 48 hours prior to the referendum to ensure voters took note of their decision.[1]

A successful 'yes' vote would have allowed President Evo Morales and Vice President Álvaro García Linera to run for a fourth term in office in 2019. Morales had already been elected three times. The first time, in 2006, is not counted as it was before the two term limit was introduced by the 2009 constitution.[4]

Polls

Pollster	Date of publication	Yes	No	Undecided
IPSOS[5]	26-oct-2015	49%	39%	11%
Mercados y Muestras[6]	5-dic-2015	40%	54%	6%
IPSOS[7]	29-dic-2015	45%	50%	5%
MORI[8]	11-ene-2016	41%	37%	19%
IPSOS[9][10]	13-ene-2016	38%	44%	14%
Captura Consulting[11]	10-feb-2016	44%	41%	15%
MORI[12]	12-feb-2016	40%	40%	11%
IPSOS[13]	12-feb-2016	40%	41%	15%
Mercados y Muestras[14]	14-feb-2016	28%	47%	25%

Results

Choice	Votes	%
For	2,546,135	48.70
Against	2,682,517	51.30
Invalid/blank votes	262,267	–
Total votes	5,490,919	100
Registered voters/turnout	6,502,069	84.45
Source: OEP

Aftermath

In September 2017, the Movement for Socialism applied to the Plurinational Constitutional Court to abolish term limits. In November the court ruled in favour of their abolition, citing the American Convention on Human Rights.[15] The ruling allowed Morales to run for re-election in the 2019 elections.[16]

References

1. "Bolivia's Re-election Referendum: The case for Yes and No". Latin Correspondent. Archived from the original on 19 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
2. La ALP sancionó la Ley de Reforma parcial de la CPE Archived 2015-12-26 at the Wayback Machine Vice President of Bolivia
3. Bolivia passes law to allow Morales to run for fourth term Reuters, 25 September 2015
4. Consulta para habilitar a Evo está en marcha; El MAS ‘se juega la vida’ Archived 2019-10-18 at the Wayback Machine La Razón, 6 November 2015
5. "El Sí ganará el referendo según encuestas de Ipsos". El Deber. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
6. "54% rechaza la reforma de la CPE para otra reelección de Evo". Los Tiempos. 5 December 2015. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
7. "50% rechaza reforma que viabiliza la reelección, según encuesta". El Deber. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
8. "Encuesta para EL DEBER da ventaja ajustada al 'Sí'". El Deber. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
9. "Encuesta Ipsos: El No a la reforma a la Constitución gana al Sí con 44% frente al 38%". La Razón. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
10. "Bolivia: Morales promete aceptar sin reclamos si gana el "No" en febrero". DW. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
11. "Encuesta revela que 44,4% apoya el Sí a la repostulación del presidente Evo Morales en el eje central del país". ABI - Agencia Boliviana de Información. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
12. "Encuesta de Mori dice que el No creció y que empata al Sí". El Deber. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
13. "El No obtiene mínima ventaja sobre el Sí en el referéndum según encuesta de Ipsos". La Razón. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
14. "Intención de voto: El Sí cae a 28% y el No sube a 47%". Los Tiempos. 14 February 2016. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
15. Bolivian court clears way for Morales to run for fourth term Reuters, 28 November 2017
16. Blair, Laurence (3 December 2017). "Evo for ever? Bolivia scraps term limits as critics blast 'coup' to keep Morales in power". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2018.