Why ex-president Evo Morales is campaigning for null votes in upcoming Bolivia election
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales has urged supporters to back a null vote in upcoming elections, claiming the protest option is surging in popularity and could make political history.
Speaking to a crowd in Cochabamba, Morales said that just days earlier, the null vote was in third place nationwide. Now, he claimed, it has overtaken all other choices. “It keeps growing,” he told supporters. “What would happen if the null vote is first and there is no winner with 50 percent plus one, nor a winner with a ten-point lead between first and second?,” he added.
Morales speculated that if null votes reach 30 percent, with other candidates like Samuel Doria Medina or Manfred Reyes Villa at around 20 percent, the protest vote would effectively “win” in the first round. He described the movement as a “democratic rebellion against a corrupt state and government,” accusing Bolivia’s political right of being complicit.
The former president, who was ousted in 2019 amid disputed elections and mass protests, framed the null vote as a form of resistance. “If the null vote wins, it will make history – not just for Bolivia, but for the world,” Morales said, adding that he could not find any precedent of such an outcome globally.
Morales also linked his political persecution to his past policies, particularly the closure of a U.S. military base and the nationalisation of natural resources. “They do not forgive us because an indigenous cocalero closed that military base,” he told the rally, adding, “They do not forgive us for nationalising natural resources.”
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The push for null votes comes just days before Bolivians head to the polls.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
