A resolution expressing serious concern about widespread irregularities in Bolivia's October 20, 2019, general elections and supporting the convening of new elections in Bolivia at the earliest possible date.

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 447 Expressing serious concern about widespread irregularities in Bolivia’s Octo- ber 20, 2019, general elections and supporting the convening of new elections in Bolivia at the earliest possible date. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 4, 2019 Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. COONS, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CRUZ, and Mr. GARDNER) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Rela- tions DECEMBER 17, 2019 Reported by Mr. RISCH, with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble JANUARY 8, 2020 Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble RESOLUTION Expressing serious concern about widespread irregularities in Bolivia’s October 20, 2019, general elections and sup- porting the convening of new elections in Bolivia at the earliest possible date. Whereas Evo Morales was elected as the first indigenous president of Bolivia in 2005; Whereas, in 2009, Bolivians approved by a vote of more than 60 percent in a nationwide referendum a new constitution that established a limit of two 5-year presidential terms VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR447.ATS SR447 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 SRES 447 ATS and declared the country a plurinational state in order to better reflect Bolivia’s dozens of ethnic groups; Whereas, in 2009 and 2014, President Morales won re-elec- tion to a second and third term in office with more than 60 percent of the vote; Whereas, in 2016, 51.3 percent of Bolivian voters rejected a national referendum on the proposal by the Administra- tion of President Morales to lift presidential term limits; Whereas, in 2017, despite the results of the 2016 national referendum, President Morales’ political allies in the Bo- livian Constitutional Tribunal removed presidential term limits; Whereas, on October 20, 2019, amid existing concerns over the politicization of Bolivia’s electoral commission, Boliv- ian voters went to the polls for general elections to choose a new president, members of the Senate, and members of the Chamber of Deputies; Whereas, at the invitation of Morales Administration, the Or- ganization of American States (OAS) General Secretariat sent an Electoral Observation Mission to Bolivia that was comprised of 92 experts and observers from 24 different nationalities deployed in the country’s nine departments and in three countries in which Bolivian expatriates could cast their votes abroad; Whereas, on October 20, 2019, Bolivian electoral authorities stopped reporting the preliminary vote count for a period of 20 hours, subsequently announced preliminary results that negated the need for a second-round election, and Evo Morales proclaimed himself the winner of the presi- dential election; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR447.ATS SR447 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 SRES 447 ATS Whereas, on October 21, 2019, the OAS Electoral Observa- tion Mission in Bolivia expressed ‘‘deep concern and sur- prise at the drastic and hard-to-explain change in the trend of the preliminary results revealed after the closing of the polls’’; Whereas, in the aftermath of the October 20, 2019, general elections, violent protests occurred throughout Bolivia in response to electoral irregularities and the findings of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission; Whereas, on October 30, 2019, the Morales Administration and the OAS General Secretariat signed an agreement to have the OAS conduct an audit of the integrity of the October 20, 2019, general elections; Whereas, on November 10, 2019, an OAS technical mission issued a report on its audit of the integrity of the Octo- ber 20, 2019, general elections, which included findings that— (1) the preliminary and final election results were transmitted via a flawed computer transmission system that was accessed by unauthorized outside computer serv- ers; (2) there was a deficient chain of custody for and significant irregularities in the electoral tally sheets and other electoral records; and (3) the audit team could not validate the results of the election and therefore recommended a new electoral process; Whereas, on November 10, 2019, President Morales acknowl- edged the results of the OAS technical mission, an- nounced that he would call new elections, and stated that, ‘‘new national elections will allow the Bolivian peo- VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR447.ATS SR447 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 SRES 447 ATS ple to democratically choose new authorities with their vote’’; Whereas, in the face of widespread public protests and a de- teriorating security environment, President Morales de- parted Bolivia on November 12, 2019, and was granted asylum by the Government of Mexico; Whereas, on November 12, 2019, the Bolivian Constitutional Tribunal recognized an interim president of Bolivia; Whereas the transitional government in Bolivia signed a law on November 24, 2019, stating that new elections must be held within 120 days after the election of a new Elec- toral Tribunal by the National Assembly; Whereas the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) stated that protests occurring in Bolivia since the October 20, 2019, general election have left 23 people dead and more than 700 people injured; and Whereas the IACHR has urged the Bolivian state ‘‘to adopt all measures necessary to prevent impunity, to protect the right to peaceful assembly, and to take urgent action to preserve Bolivians’ lives and integrity, as well as en- suring that journalists and autonomous institutions to protect and defend human rights can do their job’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) expresses concern about the numerous 2 irregularities that occurred during the October 20, 3 2019, general elections in Bolivia; 4 (2) commends the efforts of the OAS Electoral 5 Observation Mission in Bolivia and supports the 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR447.ATS SR447 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 SRES 447 ATS findings of the OAS electoral audit mission, which 1 documented numerous irregularities during the Oc- 2 tober 2019 general elections in Bolivia; 3 (3) deplores the acts of violence that have oc- 4 curred in Bolivia in the aftermath of the October 20, 5 2019, general elections and urges all Bolivians to re- 6 pudiate violence and to peacefully exercise their 7 rights of freedom of expression and assembly; 8 (4) urges Bolivia’s transitional government to 9 work expeditiously to establish the conditions for an 10 inclusive, credible, transparent, and democratic elec- 11 tions as soon as possible in accordance with their 12 laws and constitution; 13 (5) encourages the Bolivian state to protect the 14 human rights of all persons, including indigenous 15 groups, regardless of political affiliation, ethnicity, 16 religion, or sex; 17 (6) encourages the Department of State and 18 the U.S. Mission to the Organization of American 19 States to provide all appropriate support to facilitate 20 the convening of free, fair, and transparent demo- 21 cratic elections in Bolivia as soon as possible in ac- 22 cordance with their laws and constitution; 23 (7) encourages the Organization of American 24 States to take all necessary steps, in accordance with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR447.ATS SR447 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 SRES 447 ATS the principles of the Inter-American Democratic 1 Charter, to ensure respect for the will of Bolivian 2 voters and the integrity of the new democratic elec- 3 tions in Bolivia as soon as possible in accordance 4 with their laws and constitution; and 5 (8) supports the call by the Permanent Council 6 of the Organization of American States for Bolivian 7 authorities to ensure full respect and protection of 8 human rights and accountability for any violation 9 thereof. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR447.ATS SR447 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS