BUENOS AIRES (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2020) Former Bolivian President Evo Morales may challenge the decision of the Bolivian Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to reject his bid for the Senate, his lawyer Raul Gustavo Ferreyra told reporters.
On Thursday, TSE head Salvador Romero confirmed that Morales had been refused to register as a Senate candidate over the failure to comply with the permanent residency requirement. Former Foreign Minister Diego Pary Rodriguez was also banned from running for the Senate.
"We advised [Morales] to seek the protection of his right [to run for the Senate] in all national and international organizations," Ferreyra said.
According to the lawyer, Morales was forced to leave Bolivia for fear of his life, which makes the TSE decision on his bid for the Senate void and being not in line with international law.
Former Foreign Minister Pary told Sputnik that he would dispute the TSE decision in the UN bodies.
"We will use all legal mechanisms - both at the national and international levels - to have an opportunity to get respected our political rights to be elected. At the international level, our complaints against the government will be submitted to various UN bodies," the former minister said.�
Morales quit his post and fled the country in November after the opposition challenged his victory in the October election, which was to launch his fourth consecutive presidential term. Afterward, the country's entire top leadership resigned as well. Senior opposition lawmaker Jeanine Anez took over as interim president.
The new presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 3, with Morales being already barred from running for the top office.
