MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2019) The newly elected head of the Bolivian Senate, Eva Copa, on Tuesday postponed the session that was supposed to have lawmakers discuss the resignation of former President Evo Morales and decide on the date and procedure of a new presidential election, according to an internal Senate communication.
"The session scheduled to take place at 18:30 [22:30 GMT] on November 19 will be postponed for the sake of creating an environment that would be conducive to dialogue and the country's pacification," the document read, as quoted in the Deber news outlet.
Copa, 32, is a member of Morales' political party Movement for Socialism (MAS) that holds the majority of seats in the Congress. She was appointed to lead the Senate last Thursday.
On October 20, Morales claimed victory in the election that would launch his fourth consecutive presidential term. The opposition rejected the results, claiming multiple violations during the vote. Protests flared up across the nation. Morales initially pledged to hold a new vote but then was pressured into stepping down by the Bolivian military for the sake of maintaining order in the country. He resigned on November 10 and fled to Mexico under a political asylum.
At an extraordinary parliamentary session that was supposed to officiate the resignation of Morales on November 12, Bolivian opposition lawmaker Jeanine Anez proclaimed herself interim president. She pledged to convene a new election and ensure that Morales is not allowed to run. Morales' supporters, in turn, refused to recognize Anez's legitimacy, claiming that the parliamentary session was held in the absence of quorum and therefore is of no legal validity.
