New election could end unrest

Bolivia’s new interim government and lawmakers from ousted president Evo Morales’s party are preparing to work together to hold fresh elections and to restore peace, following nearly a month of violent protests.

Interim President Jeanine Anez’s government and the Movement for Socialism (MAS) have held talks sponsored by the country’s Bishops’ Conference, the European Union and Spain. United Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres has also sent an envoy to Bolivia.

Morales, meanwhile, has called for ‘‘a national dialogue which guarantees the return of our beloved Bolivia on the road to democratically restoring peace’’, in a post published on Twitter.

Morales resigned on Monday and went into exile in Mexico two days later after the Organisation of American States reported irregularities in the October elections in which the leftist leader claimed an outright victory against Carlos Mesa, his centreright challenger.

Senate vice-president Anez then took power, saying she was the next in line after Morales, his deputy and the presidents of both chambers of parliament stepped down.

The government has accepted many of the MAS’s key demands, such as guarantees that there will not be a ‘‘witch hunt’’ of its supporters, and that Morales can return to the country.

Morales has rejected Anez’s presidency and maintains that he remains in power, because Congress has not officially accepted his resignation.

He told the Mexican daily El Universal yesterday that he was hoping to return to complete his term, which expires on January 22, and to organise elections in which he would no longer be a candidate.

The protests have seen frequent clashes between Morales’s opponents and supporters, which have claimed at least 10 lives.